Simplifying retirement savings for self-employed people
At the launch of new research from Nest Insight’s self-employed savings programme, we heard from supportive voices including the Minister for Pensions, Torsten Bell MP, shared our latest findings and explored next steps and policy considerations.
Date and time: Monday 16 June | 10-11.30am (BST)
Location: Online – Microsoft Teams
Registration now closed.
Watch the sessions from the day.
With funding from DWP, Nest Insight has been developing evidence about the potential effectiveness of ‘autosave’ solutions that can help self-employed people build up both short-and long-term savings without needing to actively sign up to a savings product.
Building on the work from previous phases of the research, we know that self-employed people would value support in saving for retirement but that they are also unlikely to participate in these solutions unless the sign-up process is automated.
The latest phase of the research suggests that, if designed well, automated retirement saving mechanisms could have potential to support self-employed people to save for retirement without reducing their autonomy to choose how they use their money. As part of this phase of research we have:
- consulted with industry and policy stakeholders about how autosave solutions could work in practice
- conducted in-depth interviews with self-employed people about the autosave approach
- run randomised online research with ~1,500 self-employed people to explore whether an opt-out mechanism (both with and without additional liquidity) could boost retirement saving participation among the self-employed; and,
- collaborated with Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) to design and explore the reception of self-employed people to simulated autosave solutions in the context of LBG’s apps, products and services. Also, to explore the thoughts and response of the banking provider of doing so.
Past events
Retirement-linked Emergency Savings: Lessons from the US
In this online discussion with friends from across the pond we explored the journey to the implementation of the SECURE 2.0 Act, its impact so far and what the UK can learn from their example. This live and interactive webinar took place on Monday 28 April.
Date and time: Monday 28 April
Location: Virtual – GoToWebinar
Registration now closed.
Since the beginning of our work on short-term savings, Nest Insight has been looking across the pond to the US, where forward-thinking organisations have also been working to increase the financial security of low- and moderate-income households.
In 2022 US Congress passed legislation building emergency savings provisions into the retirement system. The SECURE 2.0 Act established the concept of a Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Account with an indexed value of up to $2,500 and separately enabled $1,000 penalty-free access to pension savings in case of a financial emergency. The landscape of both in-pension and out-of-pension workplace emergency savings solutions has been evolving in recent years with innovation from both providers and employers.
In this online event we heard from experts from the US system about the legislation, how it is playing out in practice and to drew out potential lessons for the UK’s financial resilience agenda.
Speakers
- Tim Flacke, Commonwealth
- Kendra Isaacson, Mindset
- Will Sandbrook, Nest Insight
- Moderator: Jo Phillips, Nest Insight
Alongside the event we published a case study of the United States’ SECURE 2.0 Act.
Fluctuation Nation – Lifting the lid on the millions of people managing a volatile income (Online)
Date: Thursday 21 November
Location: Online
A recording of this event is now available to watch back.
Watch the recording of the online event on YouTube:
Fluctuation Nation – Lifting the lid on the millions of people managing a volatile income (in-person)
Date: Monday 18 November
Location: Jubilee room, Westminster Hall
The launch event for the final report from our Real Accounts project ‘Fluctuation Nation’ was held in Westminster and hosted by Torsten Bell MP. The report, supported by Fair4All Finance, shed a light on the experiences of those who experience a volatile income. Our findings reveal a ‘volatility premium’, a hidden vulnerability which affects the mental health and financial security of millions of people.
We were joined by panel speakers Professor Martin Coppack (Fair by Design, CHASM – Uni of Birmingham), Muna Yassin (Rooted Finance) and Yvonne Braun (Association of British Insurers), to discuss the issues raised and and encourage policy-makers, product designers and employers to consider the opportunities to meet the needs of people whose incomes are volatile.
Nest Insight conference 2024
The next steps for lifelong financial security: leaving nobody behind
Sessions from this event are available to watch back on YouTube.
On Tuesday 16 July, for our eighth annual conference, we brought together thinktanks, academics, policy makers, employers, and others, to hear about all the latest findings from our research programmes, practical trials and beyond, and got a full picture of everything we’re hearing from the people and households seeking stability within a system that doesn’t always fit them. Together, we explored future directions.
Welcome address | 10:45 – 11am
Speakers
- Jo Phillips, Nest Insight
Panel session | 11am – 12pm
Automatic (auto) enrolment has vastly increased the numbers of working people who are saving for retirement. In particular, millions of low to middle income workers have joined the ranks of pensions savers. But there are growing concerns that many are still not saving enough – and others are missing out completely, because they’re excluded from auto enrolment. There are a growing number of calls to expand coverage and increase contributions.
The intention behind these policy proposals is clear: everyone should be encouraged to save enough to fund a comfortable retirement. But what about those people whose present-day financial realities are already far from comfortable? Is there a risk that increasing coverage or contributions will leave them worse off? Over recent months, Nest Insight and our collaborators have been working to understand how auto enrolment interacts with people’s wider financial lives. In this panel, the research team will share their findings, and highlight the challenges to designing an auto enrolment system that meets the needs of all workers.
Speakers
- Moderator: Alex Beer, Nuffield Foundation
- Matthew Blakstad, Nest Insight
- Armine Ghazaryan, Nest Insight
- John Gathergood, University of Nottingham
Panel session | 12:15 – 1:30pm
In the years since the start of auto enrolment, volatile incomes and irregular pay have become the new normal for millions of people in the UK. Over the last year, Nest Insight and our partners at Aston University and Glasgow Caledonian University have used the Real Accounts programme to better understand how households on volatile incomes manage today and plan for their futures. In this panel, we’ll focus on the lived experience of households whose incomes spike and dip. We will discuss how they navigate systems that are built on the assumption of a regular, predictable pay, and how this shapes their options and goals for financial security in later life. The panellists will consider how current systems reproduce in retirement the challenges people face in working life, and explore the opportunities to create a system that moves towards more equitable outcomes for those on volatile pay.
Speakers
- Moderator: Sope Otulana, Nest Insight
- Andrew Blair, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
- Olga Biosca, Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU)
- Camilla Eggington, Nest
- Muna Yassin MBE, Rooted Finance
Keynote speech | 2:45pm – 3:35pm
Discussions around financial resilience and security are often focused on individual and household level challenges and the need to address those from a social justice or individual responsibility perspective. But low financial resilience at a household level has broader macro-economic consequences. It introduces costs to the economy, for example through increased instance of money-related mental health issues driving healthcare costs and reduced productivity. As such, improving financial inclusion and giving access to tools to improve financial resilience can be an integral part of a broader growth agenda.
And this in turn is just one part of a broader economic argument about addressing exclusion and inequality. Unequal access to critical services such as high quality education and secure, affordable housing are not just social issues they are economic ones – rooted in historic wealth inequality but also with clear economic benefits if tackled.
Thank you and close | 3:35 – 4:45pm
Through the course of the day, we will have explored how to balance people’s need to save enough for retirement with the financial challenges they face today; and explored the particular challenges for those on volatile incomes and the need for policy and product design that is inclusive of their needs. In this final panel, we’ll turn our attention to solutions: highlighting existing innovation in the provision of workplace financial wellbeing and thinking about how both the market, and, in particular, public policy around pensions and savings might evolve to ensure no-one is left behind in the pursuit of financial security.
Speakers
- Moderator: Will Sandbrook, Nest Insight
- Molly Broome, Resolution Foundation
- Mubin Haq, abrdn Financial Fairness Trust
- Shelley Morris, Living Wage Foundation
Thank you and close | 4:50pm – 5pm
Speakers
- Will Sandbrook, Nest Insight
The need to support people’s lifelong financial wellbeing has never been more acute – especially for those on low, moderate and volatile incomes. Policy-makers are examining new ways to build on the auto-enrolment tools which have successfully nudged people to save for their pension, in the awareness that a savings pot for everyday emergencies can be equally important as a pension for later life. At the same time, forward-thinking employers are finding new ways to support their workforce, and finance industry innovators are developing smarter ways to engage and enable people via the tools and products available to them at home and at work. A holistic and whole-life approach is needed, with policy-makers, the financial services industry, and employers all having a part to play.
We’re entering into an exciting period, with the opportunity to shape the direction of new approaches and innovations. In the next chapter, our ambition is that nobody is left behind. Nest Insight is just one part of a broader ecosystem of organisations working together to innovate. Our annual conference will be a space for those organisations to continue to build connections, share insights and identify shared ways to make the system work better for people and households seeking improved financial stability’.