Kris 3 minutes to read
Don't just send a letter with pension information — send a personal video too
The new Dutch pension system gives people more choices with bigger consequences. But the letters explaining them end up unread in the bin. We built a proof of concept that turns that explanation into a personal video, so members actually know where their pension stands, which choices they can make and what the consequences of those choices are.
On 16 June 2026 the Dutch Senate approved the so-called “lump sum” option. From 2029, people will be able to have part of their pension paid out as a single sum when they retire. It is one of many choices the new pension system introduces.
A choice with potentially major personal consequences. What does such a lump sum mean for the benefits you receive? How much tax will you pay? And what does it do to your monthly payout afterwards?
These are exactly the kind of questions where good explanation makes all the difference. But that is where it goes wrong. Explanation of these consequences never reaches most people, while the consequences of a wrong choice can be large.
A personal video does get watched
Niek den Tex, pension expert and market leader in making explainer videos and webinars about pensions, brought this question to us. His idea: almost nobody reads a letter, but a video about your own personal situation — that gets watched far more. The difference between “information about pensions” and “this is about my pension”.
The tricky part is that personal usually doesn’t scale. You’re not going to hire an editing studio to cut a hundred thousand videos for a hundred thousand members. But automated, it can be done: not one film for everyone, but a personal video for each member, with AI and data as the engine.
Prove it first, then build
We deliberately didn’t build a finished product, but a proof of concept: personal data in (name, age, income, a few pension figures) and a ready-to-watch video out.
An idea on paper stays abstract; only when you see it running do you know whether it works and what it delivers. That’s why we like to make something tangible first, before anyone invests heavily in it — not a thick advisory report, but something that simply does the job. It came together quickly here because the lines were short: building, showing, gathering feedback and adjusting.
How it works
The core is surprisingly simple to explain. A natural AI voice (from ElevenLabs) narrates the personal script, with the right figures for that one person. The numbers, the charts and the animations we build with Remotion, which lets you create videos in code. Those visuals automatically follow along with what’s being said.
The beauty is that picture and sound line up on their own. The moment the voice says a figure, that figure appears on screen. No editing per person, no manual alignment. The result: fast, tailored and scalable at the same time.
Here’s what such a personal video looks like:
Want to know more?
His view on the pension world and our experience with AI and custom software took this from idea to working demo. Want to know more about this pension idea? Then contact Niek den Tex.
Disclaimer: we used AI to write this article and make it an engaging read. But the core concepts and experiences come straight from the minds of our own Spinguins.
