Challenge Group chairs will work towards the goals set in the UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing
11 sector leaders who will head up cross-industry groups set up to help transform financial wellbeing are being named today by the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS).
They will chair Challenge Groups which will recommend how the UK can achieve the five national goals set out in the government-backed UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing, launched by MaPS in January 2020 to help everyone make the most of their money and pensions.
In addition to the chairs, groups will be made up of leaders and specialists from across the public, private and third sectors, all with an interest in moving the dials on financial wellbeing. MaPS will support the groups with research and insight, and policy content to help drive forward their recommendations.
The Challenge Groups will be tasked with creating bold and innovative proposals to address financial wellbeing issues across the four nations of the UK over the next decade. Starting points could include expanding existing financial education programmes, increasing the take up of payroll savings by employers, and tackling the availability of affordable credit products.
The action-focused recommendations will be reviewed by a board1 in the summer and specific delivery plans for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will then be launched by MaPS in autumn 2020.
| Challenge Group | Name | Position | Organisation |
| Financial Foundations: Financial Services Financial Education2 | Eric Leenders | Managing Director of Personal Finance | UK Finance |
| Sarah Porretta | Strategy and Insight Director | Money and Pensions Service | |
| Financial Foundations: Financial Education | Ndidi Okezie | Chief Executive | UK Youth |
| Better Debt Advice | Sir Hector Sants | Chair | Money and Pensions Service |
| Nation of Savers | Marlene Shiels OBE | Chief Executive | Capital Credit Union |
| Credit Counts: Use of Credit | Ben Page | Chief Executive | Ipsos MORI |
| Credit Counts: Affordable Credit and Workplace and Financial Wellbeing | Sacha Romanovitch | Chief Executive | Fair4All Finance |
| Future Focus: Long-term Savings | Emma Douglas | Head of DC | Legal & General Investment Management |
| Future Focus: Decumulation and Later Life | Professor Dame Carol Black | Chair | Centre for Ageing Better |
| Gender and Financial Wellbeing | Jackie Leiper | Workplace Savings & Distribution Director | Lloyds Banking Group |
| Mental Health and Financial Wellbeing | Paul Farmer | Chief Executive Officer | Mind |
Caroline Siarkiewicz, Chief Executive of the Money and Pensions Service said:
“Transforming financial wellbeing is too big a job for any one organisation or even one sector. Our UK Strategy lays down the gauntlet in terms of what the country needs to aim for and I’m delighted to see so many inspiring people ready to join us and take up the challenge.
“The Challenge Chairs are also leading by example and, on behalf of their organisations, setting the scene for many more across the UK to support the delivery plans to make a difference to financial wellbeing over the next decade.”
Sarah Porretta, Strategy and Insights Director at the Money and Pensions Service and co-chair of the Financial Services Financial Education Group said:
“We are looking forward to working with the Challenge Groups to get to the bottom of what could really work to improve financial wellbeing, whether that’s proposing innovative new solutions or building on existing initiatives so more people can benefit from them.
“We are unashamedly ambitious and, by working together, we can give millions of people across the UK the confidence and empowerment to pay their bills today, deal with the unexpected, and get on track for a healthy financial future.”
What is financial wellbeing?
Financial wellbeing is about feeling secure and in control. It is knowing that you can pay the bills today, can deal with the unexpected tomorrow and are on track for a healthy financial future. People should feel confident and empowered.
What is the UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing?
The UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing establishes five “agendas for change” and sets goals to be achieved by 2030. These are:
- Financial Foundations: 2 million more children and young people getting a meaningful financial education
- Nation of savers: 2 million more working age people who are struggling2 and squeezed3 saving regularly
- Credit Counts: 2 million fewer people often using credit to pay for food or bills
- Better Debt Advice: 2 million more people getting the debt advice they need; currently only 32% of those who need debt advice access it
- Future Focus: 5 million more people understanding enough to plan for their later lives, and during them
The strategy will also examine factors which can make people particularly susceptible to financial detriment, such as mental health conditions and gender.
-ENDS-
For media enquiries contact:
MaPS Press Office 020 8132 5284 / media@maps.org.uk
Mia Cochrane, senior press officer 020 8132 4937 / mia.cochrane@maps.org.uk
Sarah Cordey, senior communications manager 020 8132 5251 / sarah.cordey@maps.org.uk
Notes to editors
1. The board includes the chairs of the Challenge Groups, MaPS Executive Leadership Team, the Programme Director and the Chair of MaPS, Sir Hector Sants.
2. The Financial Foundations – Financial Services Financial Education Group will bring together financial services firms to develop shared priorities that secure high-quality learning about money for all children and young people.
Challenge Chair Biographies
Eric Leenders
As Managing Director of Personal Finance, Eric’s responsibilities include: credit cards, consumer credit, complaints handling, conduct regulation, mortgages, payments, savings and supporting vulnerable customers across retail and private banking portfolios. Eric is accountable to retail, private and mid-tier bank CEOs for development and delivery of sector-specific strategies, maintaining senior-level engagement with politicians, regulators, consumer advocates and policymakers on a range of issues to support the economy, serve customers better and earn trust in the sector. Eric is a chartered banker with an MSc in Banking, and holds two non-executive directorships. He is married with three children and lives in Brighton.
Sarah Porretta
Sarah Porretta is the Strategy and Insights Director at MaPS and author of the UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing. She brings a significant understanding of industry needs and requirements having spent nearly a decade at Lloyds Banking Group leading on its financial inclusion and financial education strategy. In 2018, Sarah led on the corporate strategy and the financial capability strategy for the UK at the Money Advice Service.
Ndidi Okezie
Joining UK Youth as CEO in January 2020, Ndidi is an influential public advocate, delivering transformational change in a variety of contexts. She is deeply committed to youth work, life skills development, and youth equality. Ndidi is also a board member for youth homelessness charity, Centrepoint UK, the National Citizen Service and The Mulberry Schools Trust.
Sir Hector Sants
Sir Hector Sants is Chair of the Money and Pensions Service. Since retiring from executive work, his focus has been on helping people improve their financial wellbeing and promoting a fairer financial system. Prior to his current role he was, from 2015, Chair of StepChange, the UK’s largest debt advice charity, and he is currently a Trustee of the Just Finance Foundation. Amongst his executive roles, Sir Hector served as the CEO of the Financial Services Authority from 2007 to 2012, European CEO of Credit Suisse and a partner of stockbrokers Phillips & Drew.
Marlene Shiels OBE
Marlene is the Chief Executive of Capital Credit Union. She is also an adviser on Credit Unions/Financial Inclusion to HRH Duchess of Cornwall. She is Chair of the FCA Smaller Business Practitioner Panel.
Ben Page
Ben Page is Chief Executive of Ipsos MORI. He joined MORI in 1987 after graduating from Oxford University in 1986, and was one of the leaders of its first management buyout in 2000. A frequent writer and speaker on trends, leadership and performance management, he has directed thousands of surveys examining consumer trends and citizen behaviour.
Ben is a Visiting Professor at Kings College London, and a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. He recently served as a commissioner on the Resolution Foundation’s Intergenerational Commission.
Sacha Romanovitch
Sacha is Chief Executive of Fair4All Finance and co-Chair of the Inclusive Economy Partnership. Before this, Sacha was the first woman to head a major City accountancy firm, Grant Thornton, where she led a profit with purpose strategy and introduced a profit-sharing scheme with employees and a cap on her own salary. She was also the inaugural chair of Access Accountancy, and Grant Thornton was number one on the first Social Mobility Index and gained a Queen’s Award for Enterprise.
Emma Douglas
Emma is Head of DC at Legal & General Investment Management and Chair of the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association’s Policy Board. Previously, she was Head of DC sales at BlackRock and Head of DC pensions at Threadneedle Investments, and has more than 20 years of experience in the investment management industry. Emma graduated from Trinity College, Oxford, and holds an MBA from Manchester Business School via a Women in Management Scholarship from The Guardian.
Professor Dame Carol Black
Professor Dame Carol Black is Chair of the British Library, the Centre for Ageing Better, Think Ahead, the Government’s fast-stream training programme for Mental Health Social Workers, and NHS Improvement’s Advisory Board on Employee Health and Wellbeing. She is Adviser to NHSI and PHE on Health and Work, and a member of RAND Europe’s Council of Advisers, and of the Board of UKActive.
Paul Farmer
Paul Farmer has been CEO of Mind, the leading mental health charity in England and Wales since 2006. Paul is Chair of the NHS England Independent Oversight & Advisory Group, which oversees the long-term mental health plan for the NHS. He co-authored ‘Thriving at Work’ for government, setting out how to transform mental health in workplaces. Paul is a Commissioner at Historic England, has an Honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of East London, is an Honorary Fellow of St Peter’s College, Oxford, and The Royal College of Psychiatrists, and was awarded a CBE.
Jackie Leiper
Jackie has extensive technical experience in financial services industry, with a focus on life and pensions. She joined Lloyds Banking Group in 2010 and is a member of the Insurance and Wealth Executive Committee and chair of the Master Trust Strategy Committee. Jackie plays an active leadership role in the industry – she is a member of the ABI Long Term Savings Committee and also led a taskforce as part of the CII’s Insuring Women’s Futures Initiative, which aims to evolve the insurance profession’s approach to women and risk and improve financial security for women and society as a whole.
About the Money and Pensions Service
The Money and Pensions Service vision is everyone making the most of their money and pensions.
MaPS is an arm’s-length body sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and has a joint commitment to provide access to the information and guidance people across the UK need, to make effective financial decisions over their lifetime. The organisation also engages with HM Treasury on policy matters relating to financial capability and debt advice.
MaPS brings together the free services previously delivered by the Money Advice Service, The Pensions Advisory Service and Pension Wise. MaPS offers customers guidance and appointments over the telephone, online and in person.
For further information stakeholders should visit the Money and Pensions Service website www.moneyandpensionsservice.org.uk
Consumers can continue to access free guidance about their money and pensions via the following websites and help lines:
For money guidance: www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk / 0800 138 7777 / We are also piloting a WhatsApp service available on +44 7701 342744
For general pensions guidance: www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk / 0800 011 3797
For pensions guidance for those aged 50 and over: www.pensionwise.gov.uk/en/ 0800 138 3944