BT Super for Life has sent out the world’s first personalised annual statements on video to nearly 100,000 members.

Vicki Doyle, head of retail and corporate super at BT Super, has described the videos as a “critical turning point” in engaging the public on superannuation.

Research carried out on behalf of the fund prior to the launch of the videos found half of all people are indifferent to their annual statement, while a third did not understand them.

The feedback from the first cohorts of members to receive the statements is the videos made them feel good about their super, which Doyle said is more than could ever be said about paper statements.

The personalised aspect of the videos, which can be seen here, are limited. The voiceover reads to a standard script deviating for the name of the person receiving the statement, and a few pre-programmed rounded out figures e.g. “with an account balance of around $170,000” “with an account balance of around $165,000”, “with an account balance of around $160,000”, etc.

The relative simplicity of the videos, bar the personalisation, runs counter to the prevailing trend of superannuation videos, which have become funnier and slicker in presentation over the years.

BT Super is building upon the personalised videos by encouraging members to text in questions about their super. A channel that is encouraged by sending out twice yearly performance figures for the fund by text.