Communication by Social Security Administrations

Communication by Social Security Administrations

App folder
sites/default/files/images/guidelines/COLL10/
Guideline code
COM
Old code
COLL10
Weight
6

To use positive connotations to get the message across

The general public in Sweden has little interest in the social security system and many times incorrect expectations of how much they will receive in benefits. But at the same time most people are positive about having a general social welfare system. The Swedish Social Insurance Agency’s communication strategy was created to remind the general public of just that and to connect the Agency with those positive feelings by showing how the agency embodies that idea of social security in a modern way.

The Orange Envelope

The extensive mailing of the Orange Envelope, the annual statement regarding the public pension system, to all pension savers, creates during one month a season for pension information.

The Orange Envelope is very well known. It shows the importance of working longer and it is a great platform to make pension savers, either via digital channels or through the Pension Agency's customer service, to get help to understand the full pension and to explain which behaviours lead to a higher or lower pension.

Communication based on life events

We have developed three basic life situations for our customers: Save for retirement, Plan your retirement and Live with your pension. To think and plan for these situations helps us to provide better targeted information to our customers, develop the services they need and want, and also provides a natural starting point for our long-term planning. Our communication is also tailored to target groups within the framework of the respective life situations.

The Message Manual

The Message Manual is a brochure, in both printed and digital format, where the majority, and the most important, of our messages to pensioners and pension savers are expressed in a simple way. The manual is a support for all who have direct customer contact, so we can ensure that our messages are common and uniform. The preparation process of the Message Manual is also an easy and practical way to agree internally on what messages we wish to communicate externally.

The Orange Report

The Orange Report - The Annual Report of the Swedish Pension System - is a means of spreading and presenting information and knowledge about how the Swedish public pension system works and performs.

The Orange Report combines common accounting principles and a specially developed method to be able to present the financial development of a public (and essentially pay-as-you-go financed) pension scheme.

The target groups for this system level information are: government, politicians, policy analysts, media and researchers.

The Family Allowance "Hackathon"

For two days and a night (36 hours non-stop), 17 teams (70 people in all) from the public sector and with volunteer staff from Family Allowances Fund Offices worked on (open) data made available by the Family Allowances Fund to discover how this data could be used for the benefit of the public.

This collective intelligence exercise, which was carried out non-stop under time constraints, delivered high-quality results and met a wide variety of objectives.