Financial wellbeing blog

I’m sure like many people, here at MaPS we’ve felt the shock, uncertainty and concern caused by the COVID 19 pandemic. The past few months will have impacted all of us in some way, and MaPS has been particularly focused on the impact on people’s financial wellbeing – both in the here and now but also looking ahead to more longer-term effects. We shared back in June that we expect the...

The Covid-19 crisis has seen consumers having to take payment holidays to get them through. Ben Page, CEO of Ipsos MORI and chair of a steering group on credit use, explores which consumers use credit for essentials, how coronavirus has impacted credit use, and how the UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing is responding. I was honoured to be invited to chair the Use of Credit Challenge...

This Mental Health Awareness Week, the chief executives of Mind and the Money and Pensions Service talk about the increasingly familiar link between money and mental health, and how the mental health and financial sectors are working together to respond to people’s changing needs during the coronavirus outbreak and beyond. Paul Farmer, CEO of Mind Money and mental health are often...

Quality and Training Executive Ivy Milazzi and guiders from our contact centres share their experiences of responding to the increased need for money guidance during Covid-19. Coronavirus has had a financial impact on so many people who experienced income shocks and changes to their circumstances almost overnight. We had to make changes just as suddenly to meet their money guidance...

Before the UK entered lockdown, we issued a notice to our stakeholders to share how we were continuing to deliver services for our customers, collaborate with partners and prioritise the wellbeing of MaPS employees. Six weeks on, MaPS CEO Caroline Siarkiewicz updates on our response to Covid-19. The current pandemic is not just hitting people’s physical health...

MaPS trialled a way to reduce missed debt advice appointments using behavioural science. Eight partner organisations participated in the pilot. Louise Lee from Citizens Advice Derbyshire Districts shares how it affected frontline staff, what worked, and what they would do differently. Why we joined the pilot At Citizens Advice Derbyshire Districts we’re always keen to be...

Closing date for responses has now passed. For more opportunities to engage with the UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing, sign up for the MaPS monthly newsletter, and follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn. The UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing sets out five challenges – ambitious goals to improve the lives of millions of people by 2030. We are now looking at these priority areas in detail,...

Our Strategy and Insights Director Sarah Porretta tells a tale of love and pensions for International Women’s Day. Are you sitting comfortably? Let me tell you a story, one that’s playing out in households across the UK right now: Sam and Alex are thirtysomethings with two kids. They decided a few years ago it made sense for Alex to work part time, as the childcare fees...

Richard Smith, Industry Lead at the Industry Delivery Group (IDG), provides an update on activity relating to the industry working groups, looking at expressions of interest, resourcing, data scope, research with pension providers and schemes, and the latest stage of the Pension Schemes Bill. I joined the pensions dashboards programme in mid-November 2019 as Industry Lead with...

Our Strategy and Insights Director Sarah Porretta shares her own experiences of talking money with her family. A year ago during Talk Money Week 2018 I pledged to start giving my kids pocket money. As UK strategy director for financial wellbeing, I decided I really had to walk the talk and ensure I got my two children, aged three and four at the time, off to a good start. How I...

Update on debt advice funding in the wake of Covid-19

Credit Counts: reviewing how the UK uses credit

Mental health and money: how Covid-19 could create the perfect storm

Covid-19: Perspectives from the money guidance front line

Personal finances and the impact of coronavirus – the role of the Money and Pension Service

How we reduced debt advice no shows using behavioural science

Join the 2030 Financial Wellbeing Challenge

Love and money: A pension penalty story

Pensions dashboards: moving forward with working groups

Pocket money in a cashless world: tips for Talk Money Talk Pensions Week

Managing money in uncertain times