Money and Pensions Service to build a nation of savers through new UK Savings Charter

• 11.1 million working age adults on low to modest incomes do not save regularly (UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing).  
• Through the UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing, the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) aims to create 2 million new savers of working age on low to modest incomes by 2030. 
• The new UK Savings Charter, designed with and for savings providers, will be an important means to achieve this ambitious target.
• NatWest Group and the Yorkshire Building Society are the the first two organisations to sign up to the pledge. 
• MaPS is encouraging savings providers to sign up to the Charter and raise the profile of savings and financial wellbeing to consumers, creating a Nation of Savers. 

To raise the profile of savings and financial wellbeing to consumers, MaPS has worked with a range of savings providers to develop the UK Savings Charter. The Charter provides the opportunity for savings providers to amplify what they are already doing to raise the profile of savings and inspire them to signal what they intend to do, in line with one or more of five commitments:

• Publicly demonstrate a commitment to build financial security through savings
• Support individuals to save by understanding their financial situation and goals
• Give people access to their savings buffer when they need it
• Keep customers informed about their savings and their options as customers

Talk about saving in local communities, and places of education and work where they operate. 

Michael Royce, Savings Lead at the Money and Pensions Service, said:

“All our evidence shows that a more widespread habit of regular saving would be transformational for the nation’s financial wellbeing. 

“The UK Savings Charter provides an opportunity for financial service organisations to demonstrate their commitment to building consumers’ financial security through savings. 

“The Charter also provides a way for firms to think strategically about savings across all their retail and community based operations – through direct customer channels, in schools and other educational institutions, as well as faith and community groups, and via employers.” 

UK-based bank, NatWest Group, has become the first signatory of the UK Savings Charter and Mo Watt, Savings Expert at NatWest Group, said: 

“In 2020, we set out to help 2m customers start to save by the end of 2023 – we’re happy to have reached this goal but know there’s more to do to help people build good savings habits. We’re really pleased to be the first signatory of the MaPS UK Savings Charter after being at the heart of its design.

“Signing the charter provides an opportunity for us to demonstrate our continued commitment to help people start to save and focus on their financial wellbeing. We look forward to working together with the savings industry and MaPS to help build a nation of savers.”

Yorkshire Building Society has also signed the Charter and Chris Irwin, Director of Savings at Yorkshire Building Society, said: 

“At Yorkshire Building Society we are committed to helping people build financial resilience and work towards their financial goals. Research shows that people who save regularly are generally less anxious about money and report greater life satisfaction, regardless of income.

“We are proud to sign up to the Savings Charter, confirming our commitment to help people save, whatever their age, situation and savings experience and supporting the aim to help the UK become a Nation of Savers.”

To express your interest in signing the UK Savings Charter, please visit our Savings Charter page.

– ENDS –

• Building a Nation of Savers is one of the core pillars of the UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing. The Strategy, which is coordinated by the Money and Pensions Service, brings together partners from all sectors to improve the financial wellbeing of the UK population.
• Through the Nation of Savers pillar, we want to see the following changes:
  • More people saving: success will be measured by people who save every or most months
  • Systems change: websites, apps and other systems that people use daily need to change. We want it to be much easier to put money into savings, no matter how small the amount, and for people to have to think twice about taking it out. 
  • Cultural change: we want to change the national conversation, so saving is seen as valuable and attractive. We also want to focus that conversation on banked savings, rather than money-saving tips. Otherwise, money saved tends to be spend on other items. 
• The UK Savings Charter was created by engaging a small working group of savings providers representing banks, building societies, credit unions and the fintech industry. Our focus has been on ensuring the five commitments are as inclusive as possible for the savings sector and of consumer needs. We considered the potential impact of the Consumer Duty, advances in the use of technology and innovation and future developments in ESG when finalising the commitments.