We launched our Tackling the Savings Gap campaign in 2013, and since then we have polled more than 30,000 people as a part of our continued research into the fact that only a minority of UK savers will have enough funds for comfortable retirement.
We are leading one of the largest campaigns into the Savings Gap in the UK, believing that radical ideas and innovative solutions are needed in three areas to close the gap: better financial knowledge, agile regulation and technology.
Knowledge Gap
Our latest research paper Tackling the Savings Gap for Q3 2017 reports the true impact of poor money management on the lives of UK consumers. Our findings on debt reveal the daily struggles faced as consumers seek a way back into the black.
Also reported is the persistent problem that underpins our entire research, many people are simply not saving enough to secure a comfortable financial future.
Agility Gap
Another urgent matter is finding a way to get the self-employed saving enough for retirement.
In the second quarter of 2017, the number of self-employed people in the UK increased year-on-year by 100,000 to 4.8 million. Stats from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) suggest that less than one in seven self-employed people added any money to a pension last year.
Technology Gap
Today, contributing toward your retirement is as easy online as taking on debt, or spending cash. Through our own impulseSave® technology, which enables users to invest in seconds via mobile devices, almost £100 million has been invested.
The next step is to make overall personal financial management as simple as possible. Often at the heart of poor debt management – and an inability to save for the future – is not a shortage of funds, but a lack of regular attention to monthly incomings and outgoings.
Our Managing Partner David Harrison says in the report: “Only by striving to make saving as easy as accumulating debt will we see any significant improvements on this front.”
To read the full report click here
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