But do young 14-year-olds even care about pensions? Chiovitti rejected the assumption that younger members are uninterested in pensions.

“A 14-year-old isn’t coming to a retirement planning seminar,” she emphasized. “But they should understand the value of the dollars they’re contributing today. What does that mean for their long-term financial plan?”

Chiovitti also pointed to recent findings they conducted with market research firm Pollara.

“One of the biggest, I think, incorrect assumptions was that young members were not as engaged, not as interested in pensions, and that proved to be untrue,” she said.

“Eighty-five percent of 29-year-olds want to learn more about their pensions. In an uncertain world, people started to talk about pensions as more money. Everybody wants to see a path for future financial success. How can we talk to our 20- to 30-year-olds about their pension playing a part in that role?”

She believes that the shift has to be from age-based generalizations to data-backed targeting, noting OMERS is moving toward a multi-channel strategy.

“We’re really starting to understand the different demographics and data points fundamentally, number one,” she said. “Then we’re trying to focus on what do we need people to know at different generations that they need to pay attention to?”

Chiovitti acknowledged that pension plans have traditionally been too paternalistic, which no longer works for younger plan members as they want personalized, bite-sized content.

They don’t want statements mailed once a year or newsletters they’ll never read; they want tools that meet them where they are, notably on apps, podcasts, and mobile devices.

“They're not necessarily going to read a big statement,” she said, referring to Gen Z and younger members. “That might be different for others.”

Generation Alpha, those currently aged between 16-19 and who will be among the workforce in the next decade, is also marked by not only a digital era but of entrepreneurial ambition and a demand for autonomy. That will ultimately shape how they approach pensions and how pensions should approach them.

She notably sees the potential in podcasts, not just for ease of access and evergreen information but because “they live in a specific space and can be created differently than a newsletter,” said Chiovitti. “Nothing creates more connectivity than storytelling.”

As to whether social media, like TikTok or other platforms could be used as an educational tool to meet Gen Z and Generation Alpha, Chiovitti believes it’s where the industry is shifting.  

“It’s not about what makes me comfortable. It’s about where are people going to be,” she said. “By 2034, 74 per cent of my active contributing members will be made up of Millennials, Gen Z and this new Alpha generation,” she said. “Baby boomers will be retired. They will be very happy in that deep decumulation phase. But I’ll need to look after my active plan members.”

“The example I give is, one of the primary ways we deal with individuals today is through our contact center between nine and five. That will not be the number one source for our Generation Alpha... They don’t trust by the nature of just trust,” she added. “They want to be empowered; they want to create their own path. They’re essentially saying, ‘Give me the tools’.”

That’s what is ultimately pushing OMERS to build communication strategies for a workforce that will soon be dominated by digital natives.

That also means the paternalistic pension model around “trust us, we’ve got this” won’t fly, emphasized Chiovitti. Instead, OMERS is aiming to meet members where they are, providing the resources for self-directed learning while still delivering the security that comes from a large, defined benefit plan.

Chiovitti highlighted OMERS’ research which found that those who prepared holistically for retirement - who thought not just about finances, but lifestyle and purpose - were more likely to report higher satisfaction, better community participation, and even better health outcomes.

OMERS wants to replicate that across all age groups. By using data not just to inform messaging, but to target it. The goal for Chiovitti and OMERS now is to move members along the engagement spectrum from unaware to empowered.

“We now need to think about, what we put in place within the next five years. Plan sponsors definitely need to be thinking about it, make it data and evidence driven, and then start getting comfortable with what that means. It's a different level of risk; it's a different level of investment. We need to be paying attention to it because it’s not going to go away,” she said.