Will financial education be high on the corporate agenda in 2016?

Recent research published by The Open University Business School and Share Radio – highlighted the fact that two thirds of UK employees have never received financial education.

The research also found that, while four in five (81%) employees want personal finance help from their employers, only 7% of those who have received financial education received this from their employer.

Also, whilst many employees claim to have a reasonable level of financial knowledge, what they have most recently learnt has often been the result of a major life event, such as leaving school or buying a first property, as opposed to being taught.

With Britain’s savings-culture society rapidly diminishing and life expectancy increasing more than ever, people need financial knowledge to effectively plan their future.

At Secondsight, we believe Employers have a big role to play in educating their workforce about their financial options and in recent years, we’ve seen a growing number of companies approach us to lead financial education workshops.

Educating people empowers them; it teaches them about their money and how they can make it work better for their future.

Employers could be making this part of their standard benefits programmes – supporting the wellbeing of their workforce.

Let’s hope 2016 really sees financial education in the workplace gaining traction…

By Darren Laverty, Partner at Secondsight