With a growing ecosystem of companies and initiatives focusing on improving life sciences and healthcare through technology, Scotland has emerged as an innovation hub in an industry now employing over 42,500 people. It’s also one that’s turning over billions in revenue every year, which represents big business locally for Scotland.
Boosting Investment for Scotland
A focus for the Scottish Government, the Campbell Report, studies ways to attract increased levels of private investment into the sector. It considers the need for private investment and collaboration to enhance innovation and commercialisation. It makes 18 recommendations aimed at making Scotland the fastest growing innovation life science cluster in Europe which will bring significant economic and health benefits if successful.
A key growth area and certainly one to keep a close eye on, but what does it do and how does it impact pension provision?
A changing landscape
The crossover of health and life sciences with pension provision is a fascinating and increasingly relevant topic. As populations age and healthcare technology advances, the ways in which we plan for and manage retirement are evolving and health and life science advancements are influencing the shape of future retirement planning. Not only are innovations improving the quality of care, but they’re also extending life expectancy, which has a significant effect on pensions and retirement.
- Artificial Intelligence and Big Data has the capacity to revolutionise healthcare through more accurate diagnoses, personalised treatment plans and predictive analytics. For pension providers, this means that retirees may live longer and healthier lives, necessitating adjustments in pension planning and provision.
- Biotechnology advances such as gene therapy and regenerative medicine are offering new treatments for previously incurable conditions. These breakthroughs can significantly enhance the quality of life for retirees, allowing them to remain active and independent for longer. This shift requires pension systems to consider the financial implications of longer life spans and potentially higher healthcare costs.
- Lifestyle and environment choices such as diet and exercise are well known longevity influences. Studies now indicate that social interactions are also linked to better health and increased life span, while social isolation can shorten lifespan.
What does this mean for pension provision?
The Health and Life Sciences sector largely escapes legacy pension issues, providing clean and flexible employment opportunities for a typically young and highly mobile workforce. However, are these savings sufficient?
As an industry, how much consideration does the lifetech sector give to the impact of their work on employees’ ability to enjoy a fruitful and productive retirement? Linking advancements in health and life sciences to future pension provision through the increased use of data analytics, health status, and anticipated medical needs to create more personalised retirement patterns and requirements will revolutionalise pension and retirement planning.
Going back to the Big Data mentioned earlier, Investment is another area where its analytics could help make a real difference, through:
- identifying trends
- streamlining administrative tasks, and
- managing records.
Could investment strategies be automated in future and would this lead to better outcomes for members?
The future looks good
Of course, none of this is without its challenges – personal data must still be kept both secure and private. Overcoming data security challenges and maintaining trust in our industry should, rightly so, continue to remain a high priority. But combining Scotland’s thriving digital and technology sector with our financial services expertise suggests Scotland is primed to lead the way with technology driven healthcare and financial solutions.
Either way, it’s an area I’m excited to watch develop!
For more information on any of the areas discussed above, or any of this week’s posts, please contact its author Nicola Paul, who leads our Scotland team.
