Downing St Briefing

“Everyone should be able to benefit from financial products and services which suit them - but many aren’t able to.”

- Tulip Siddiq MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury

Gone are the days of financial education. Here are the days of financial action.

That was the message as three leading experts on financial , after a rousing call to arms from the UK’s Economic Secretary.

The new UK Government will drive up focus on inclusion, and new research increasingly suggests most consumers do know what good financial habits look like - but can’t access the services they need, or struggle to take action.

Savings could close the intent to action gap, as auto-enrolment savings moves into legislative consideration after powerful trials run by Harvard University with Wagestream, Co-op and Bupa.

Take action

• Lean into change
  After a decade-long vacuum of employment changes, Labour’s Employment Rights Bill is just the beginning. Turbulence is inevitable - but a raft of consultations will open up opportunities for employers who lean in and shape the new world of work
  
  
• Challenge preconceptions
  Money can be counterintuitive - having access to flexible pay, for example, doesn’t drive down workers’ desire to also save for the future. Meanwhile, new research highlights higher earners - who make decisions about financial wellbeing in workplaces - are underestimating the savviness of lower-earner colleagues
  
  
• Target ‘hard to reach’
  Consider that the colleagues who most need help may be the last to proactively use a helpful benefit like payroll savings, and think about new ways to engage them - like flipping the default to automatic enrolment