A Bold Promise that breaks the pension mould.
A JustRetireDifferent Instagram ad stood out in my feed: “Bored of the same old pension calculators? (Yeah! So are we!).” It did its job. Most calculators are basic and dull, so I hoped this one might offer a better way to play with projections, learn something useful, and make changes that improve my retirement outlook.
My first reaction: the brand is strong. Deep burgundy with a punchy fuchsia red, exhilarating skydiver imagery in the advert, and an open-water swimmer on the app welcome screen. The look is consistent across touchpoints from social media into the app. The design investment shows, and it pays off. It prompted my download, and likely many others.
Next up, animation. If you want to lift digital presentation, bring it to life. Subtle motion guides attention and shows direction of travel, which keeps the customer focused on the task at hand. The result is an enjoyable, almost effortless experience. Most people outside digital could not explain why, but they feel it. Steve Krug’s book “Don’t Make Me Think” still holds: keep interfaces intuitive. From the loading screen to interstitials and page transitions, animation polish lifts the whole experience.
Unfortunately, there are a couple of clunky moments. The big one is a dead end at a key point. You have shared a chunk of personal information and expect a payoff. Instead, the app shows how much your pension is worth. It does this well by framing it as an equivalent annual salary, which helps people gauge what life might feel like in retirement. It is a shame, because the data entry up to this point feels swift and smooth, with one or two inputs per page and key details explained in full-screen, bite-sized panels with engaging visuals.
After a restart, or with a two-finger swipe to the right, you reach the forecast results page. And it delivers. The first view is neat and not overcomplicated. You get projected retirement income up front, helpful tooltips, edit and delete controls, and a retirement quality widget that adds useful context on living standards.
This is the functionality we came for. We want to explore scenarios that inspire action and, if needed, encourage higher saving. The app collects the basics and offers three appealing ways to personalise:
- Work less. Scale back hours on the way to retirement.
- Put a bit more aside. Nudge monthly contributions and see the impact.
- Take a lump sum. Choose how much you want to take at retirement.
It is useful, but it could go further:
- Pre-packed scenarios and suggested changes that create the biggest impact. What would it take to jump a living-standards level or two?
- Clear facts when off-track, with realistic options. One-off top-ups from bonuses, birthdays, or Christmas gifts can materially shift outcomes.
- Short, in-app education on pension strategies, tailored by user type: struggling to meet standards, en route to meet standards, or ahead. Provide practical next steps for each.
Information is presented well, with accessible colour contrast, scannable titles and summaries, and detailed breakdowns in digestible lists. Icons break up the copy and help people grasp context at a glance. Further reading appears at the right moments for those who want more depth.
I did hit a small issue during onboarding. A tooltip modal was hidden by the keyboard, which blocks helpful guidance and adds friction (see below). The fix is simple. Switch the view and auto-close the keyboard when the tooltip appears.
In summary, the calculator works well and is a strong step in the right direction.
Fix the dead-end flow, sort the tooltip, and add smarter scenarios and guidance. Do that and Just moves much closer to earning its bold claim. Either way, it is good to see providers investing in this part of the journey. The more customer-centred effort in this space, the better.
