Schroders and the Pensions Management Institute (PMI) have launched the Lifetime Savings Initiative (LSI) to address the pressing challenges UK savers face.
The initiative seeks to understand and address concerns like long-term retirement requirements, rising housing expenses, and financial resilience.
Data from the LSI’s preliminary study shows that borrowing to cover living expenses has significantly increased, that the number of private rental households by pensioners is expected to rise, and that the UK has a considerable shortfall in long-term savings.
The research, which is being carried out in stages, aims to measure these difficulties and suggest practical remedies. Later this year, a white paper with recommendations from Schroders and the PMI will be given to legislators.
Senior stakeholders from a variety of industries have been informed of the first stage’s results in order to promote discussion and agreement on how to tackle the problems facing the lifetime savings market.
Pensions Management Institute chair Ruston Smith says: “We are today announcing we have delivered on the first stage of this initiative: defining the problem. We have identified key pinch points which are preventing people from building financial security in both the short and long-term. As this is such an important societal problem, spanning across a number of regulatory regimes, we want to share our insights and take a collaborative approach to broaden the discussion. We want this initiative to be a real force for positive change, to help people have easier and better choices and therefore better outcomes and greater financial security.”
Schroders Solutions executive chairman James Barham says: “We hope that the breadth and depth of our panel will help to break down the silos between different areas of the savings system and allow us to build a consensus around what needs to be done to address the key challenges facing people saving today.
“Many stakeholders are worrying about these problems and a great deal of splendid work has been done already. This is why we are sharing our data pack now, in the hope that we can enrich the debate, and spark more conversations. It makes for sobering reading, but our hope is it acts as a trigger for more people to join the debate. “Because together we passionately believe that if we can address some of the problems of the lifetime savings market the benefits to the UK, and its millions of citizens is almost immeasurable.”
