It's nothing personal, but I don't think the red button on the TV remote will make the final cut when the list of great 21st century inventions is announced.

I must confess I've only pressed the thing twice, at least five years ago, to check the weather forecast. So I've little or no idea what happens if you press it these days – still, I have the lingering suspicion that you get a list of attention-grabbing and thoroughly useless content, perhaps a Downton Abbey themed version of Pac-Man to while away the time if the TV isn't being pointless enough that evening.

It's just that I imagine there must be natural limits on content quality when your entire target audience consists of people who can't sit still through a TV programme without resisting the temptation to whack brightly-coloured buttons.

The folks at Friends Life have done much more research than me though. With the help of the Future Foundation think tank they have concluded that Britain is ready for a 'Channel Changer Pension' via that same old red button.

No doubt there would be a few who seize the opportunity to "bring pensions into their living rooms" as the press release notes, and as champions of more retirement saving we should welcome that.

The report's other main suggestion of using bank ATMs to report on pension pots and allow for instant top ups is surely more sensible. It shouldn't be too tricky to make it work given the options these things have – an ATM once asked me a yes or no question on whether I wanted to make a small donation to a war amputee foundation, which I found a brilliant idea.

Clearly, flexibility through innovation could bring lots of people closer to their pensions – something which seems important for the success of defined contribution (DC) pensions that people will be automatically enrolled into by their employers.

Many people might be happy to get an annual pension statement through the post, but putting those details online via a corporate wrap, on an ATM or onto the TV seems sensible for those who expect to get knowledge on demand.

And while all this innovation should be welcomed, it can't be forgotten that making pension contributions out of your pay packet has been a tried and tested system that people have long trusted to provide for the retirement they want.

The UK's historically solid occupational pension system was founded on a sense of pride and importance in retirement saving, and nothing could be more essential in keeping things that way in the new era of DC provision than restoring this sense of duty.

Which is why innovative technological solutions are not enough in themselves to solve the looming £9 trillion shortfall in retirement savings.

Whichever useful additions you make to the big picture via these kind of improved communication devices, the bigger need remains one of tuning people into the value of careful retirement planning.

I wonder, of all those presses of the red button, how many have come from somebody sitting on the remote whilst reclining to enjoy a show they really want to watch?

Now it could be argued that awareness is an important part of this, and if those pressing a button to look for X Factor outtakes are bombarded with reminders about their pension, that'll get people talking and thinking.

But for the vast majority of people who are indifferent to content promoted by big red icons screaming 'press me', it will be next to useless.

Ensuring a sound and healthy retirement is too important to be left to such unsubtle nudges. How about lecturing children on the importance of pension saving instead?

dbillingham@wilmington.co.uk