How content design unlocked £7 million in refunds

Three fragmented data sources

Following a court ruling, thousands of public service pension members were left unable to correct their past tax records. The core problem was that the necessary data was fragmented across three sources: the user, their pension scheme, and HMRC.

No single party had all the information required to perform the calculation. This created a frustrating deadlock, leaving users stuck, uncertain of their financial position, and unable to find out if they owed tax or were due a refund.

Building trust in a complex calculation

We needed a secure service that helped users gather scattered data from three different sources. It had to guide them through a complex calculation and provide a clear, trusted outcome on whether they were owed a refund or needed to pay additional tax.

Sole content strategy for 200+ screens

I was the bridge between tax policy experts and confused users. I defined the language and information architecture, deciding exactly what to show users — and when — to guide them through a high-stress journey.

Translating tax law into plain English

Tax calculations are inherently confusing. Our initial user testing revealed that technical language and dense numerical data were significant barriers to comprehension.

• Removing the jargonI translated complex tax terminology into plain English, consistently testing to maintain a low reading age and ensure clarity.
• Partnering with policyI worked closely with accountants and tax specialists to understand how they explain difficult concepts, then adapted those analogies for a digital format.
• Testing for confidenceWe didn’t just measure whether users could finish. We iterated the result screen until “Are you sure?” became “Okay, that makes sense.”

The breakthrough: from numbers to narrative

In early testing, users froze when they saw the wall of numbers in the calculation breakdown. By moving to a narrative, we turned a black-box calculation into a transparent explanation.

• A calculation storyInstead of showing a wall of numbers, I designed a step-by-step summary that explained what each number meant and why it was being used.
• Structured for clarityThe narrative transformed a daunting calculation into a clear, trustworthy explanation. In testing, it dramatically improved comprehension and confidence.