- Financial Wellness Ratings for employers and advisers announced including:
- Financial Wellness without Open Finance
- Financial Wellness with Open Finance
- Scottish Widows, Standard Life and Aviva are among the providers leading the pack with Gold ratings across both rating sets and all products
- ‘Help to Buy’ category introduced for the first time, but only being addressed by a few providers
- Full ratings and individual provider factsheets accessible via BenefitsGuru.co.uk.
Benefits Guru today announces its annual Financial Wellness Ratings, benchmarking Workplace Pension providers in categories with and without Open Finance. Six providers have been awarded an overall Gold rating.
Financial wellness remains of growing importance to the workplace market due to the financial stress experienced by many since the onset of Covid-19 pandemic, ensuring members have their finances in order and are positioned for a healthy financial future long-term. In response, many workplace pension providers are innovating and enhancing their financial wellness propositions to incorporate tools, information and services. This enables people to take control of their finances by increasing their financial education, encouraging them to manage debt, and to build a bigger saving pot – all of which prepares them for the future.
The ratings are designed to help benefits consultants, corporate advisers and employers review products that meaningfully improve member and employee outcomes and help improve financial wellness and resilience.
Financial Wellness without Open Finance ratings
Aviva, Fidelity, Hargreaves Lansdown, Scottish Widows and Standard Life achieved an overall Gold rating for a number of their propositions and in a number of sub categories such as Personalised Financial Education and identifying and addressing Vulnerable Customers
| GOLD | Aviva (Designer, My Money & My Money Master Trust)Fidelity (GPP, Own Trust & Master Trust)Hargreaves LansdownScottish Widows (GPP, GSIPP & Master Trust) Standard Life (GFRP & DC Master Trust) |
| SILVER | Aegon (TargetPlan GPP, Master Trust & Workplace ARC)CushonLegal & General (WPP & Master Trust)Mercer Master Trust (Aviva and Scottish Widows)Royal LondonTrue Potential |
The highest number of Gold ratings was awarded in the ‘Vulnerable Customers’ section, demonstrating that all providers take this matter seriously and are striving to identify vulnerable customers and address their concerns in the best ways possible.
Micro savings functionality and tools/services to help members save and buy new a home were the lowest scoring areas across the survey.
Financial Wellness with Open Finance Ratings*
Aviva, Mercer, Scottish Widows Standard Life and True Potential were benchmarked in the Financial Wellness with Open Finance category.
Open Finance offers providers the ability to view their clients’ financial data including all monthly savings and expenses. This is then used as intelligence to ensure members are making their money work as hard as it can for them.
Scottish Widows’ proposition improved this year from a Silver to a Gold, following their new partnership with Moneyhub. Aviva, Mercer and Standard Life all retained overall Gold awards.
A third set of ratings specifically looking at the open finance capacity of providers will be published next week.
| GOLD | Aviva (Designer, My Money & My Money Master Trust)Mercer Master Trust (Aviva and Scottish Widows)Scottish Widows (GPP, GSIPP & Master Trust)Standard Life (GFRP & DC Master Trust) |
| SILVER | True Potential |
Jason Green, Head of Workplace Research at Benefits Guru, commented: “Year on year, it’s exciting to see providers adapt and grow their proposition with innovative and market leading initiatives that help members improve their financial lives.
“Financial wellness and improving member outcomes are at the forefront for all workplace pension providers. They are increasingly well-placed help savers build a financial resilience mindset, helping consumers be more comfortable with their finances.
“Many now have the ability to not only build a pension pot, but to help get us there by managing outstanding debt, build emergency cash funds and save for short- and mid-term goals from holidays to house renovations.
“Financial resilience, security and stability remain a key concern for consumers. Workplace Pension providers are shaking off their image as a traditional long-term saving plan which can be only accessed at retirement by building tools and services which are relevant today to help plan for tomorrow.”
Roy McLoughlin, Director – Strategic Partners at Cavendish Ware commented:
“The Financial Wellness capabilities of pension providers should be a major consideration for all advisers when recommending a workplace pension scheme. Helping members better manage their finances today, to enable better savings for the future, should be seen as part of the advice process.
“Benefit Guru’s extensive research provides a flexible basis for comparing the features and functionality between over 20 pension providers propositions and can assist in finding the right providers for our employer customers.
For advisers to have access to such readily available information which focuses on the ever-changing Financial Wellness capabilities that are on offer from workplace pension providers is extremely valuable”.
