- Providers continuing to improve Open Finance functionality
- Scottish Widows improves, achieving an overall Gold award following Moneyhub partnership
- Clean sweep of Gold awards for Aviva, Mercer and Standard Life
- Full ratings and individual provider factsheets accessible via BenefitsGuru.co.uk.
Benefits Guru today announces its fourth annual Financial Wellness Ratings benchmarking Workplace Pension providers that provide Open Finance technology in recognition of the growing opportunity and importance of financial insight and improved member outcomes. Among the six providers rated at present, Scottish Widows has improved from a Silver award in 2023 to a Gold award this year, as its new partnership with Moneyhub has had such a positive impact on the overall positions.
Aviva, Mercer and Standard Life retained their Gold overall ratings and Gold in all six subcategories.
The Benefits Guru’s ratings provide clarity on the variety of tools and services which are available via Workplace Pension providers, to help advisers and employers identify the propositions that will help improve financial outcomes for members and highlight areas where providers could enhance their offerings. Providers are currently benchmarked across six categories, namely Messaging & Outcomes, Inclusion of Partner & Joint Accounts, Consent, Account connectivity, Bank connectivity, Transaction History & Categorisation.
Open Finance plays a growing role in the ability to enhance financial wellness for end consumers. More than 8 million consumers now use open banking enabled products in the UK, as consumers seek to better understand how they spend and save. The increasing use of open finance by pensions providers is an indicator for the adoption of innovation by the pensions industry and its integration in financial planning.
Ian McKenna, Founder of FTRC and BenefitsGuru, added: “In the Smart Data Roadmap published last month by the Department for Business and Trade, The Government has made it clear that Open Finance is a key objective to improve consumer access to financial services. By positioning themselves at the front of this transformation in how consumers can access and manage their financial lives online, these firms are delivering today much of what the industry will be challenged to deliver over the next 18 months. They are not only providing better services than others in the market but also learning today what their peers will need to know tomorrow thus gaining a valuable advantage for the future.”
Financial Wellness with Open Finance Ratings
Six providers, Aviva, intelliflo, Mercer, Scottish Widows, Standard Life and True Potential were benchmarked as providers that offer an Open Finance functionality.
| GOLD | Aviva (Designer, My Money & My Money Master Trust)IntellifloMercer Master Trust (Aviva and Scottish Widows)Scottish Widows (GPP, GSIPP & Master Trust)Standard Life (GFRP & DC Master Trust) |
| SILVER | True Potential |
Financial wellness remains of growing importance to the workplace market due to the financial stresses experienced by many since the onset of Covid-19 pandemic, and ensures members have their finances in order and are positioned for a healthy, long-term, financial future. In response, many workplace pension providers are innovating and enhancing their financial wellness propositions to incorporate tools, information and services to enable people to take control of their finances.
