Financial education helping the UK become a nation of savers.

By Jonathan Watts-Lay, Director, WEALTH at work, a leading provider of financial education, guidance and advice in the workplace.

As we enter the New Year, it’s a great opportunity for us to take stock of our finances. But with the holiday season proving to be one of the most expensive times of the year, many will be saddled with debt and worries about how to make ends meet.

In fact, it’s not uncommon for employees to face financial worries at various stages of their life whether that is dealing with spiralling debt, concerns over retirement savings, or simply making the monthly budget work.

Learning how to manage money is an important life skill and getting the balance right between spending and saving is fundamental – but many employees struggle to understand the financial issues that relate to them and require support.

Financial education delivered in the workplace can help employees understand the basic principles of money management, including how to set budgets, balance finances and build a savings plan; whether that is for a first home, holiday or to generate income at-retirement.

This should then be complimented with a modern benefits package which appeals to a broad range of employees at different life stages and with different saving priorities.

This would of course include the pension which is a valuable workplace savings vehicle but ISA’s, share schemes and the Lifetime ISA for example, are also useful tools to support employees with their short, medium and long term savings goals.

Such variety allows employees to choose a savings method, or a combination of methods, which are the most appropriate for them at a given point in time.

Supporting employees with a comprehensive financial education programme and relevant benefits package can help us become a nation of savers who are in control of our finances not only throughout our career, but also later in life.