Hello, my name is James Kelly, and I am the Regional Partnership Manager for the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) across North West England.

As part of my role, I lead MaPS engagement in the Greater Manchester area with partner organisations including employers such as Local Authorities, Manufacturers, Retailers, Financial Services firms, Credit Unions, Transport providers, Social Landlords, and Housing Associations.

Vision of The Money and Pensions Service

The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) was created in 2018 to bring together the three organisations of the Money Advice Service, The Pensions Advisory Service, and Pension Wise, and provide one destination for people to find and access our services. Our vision is to help everyone make the most of their money and pensions. We are here to guide people in a whole range of financial situations be they struggling, in difficulty/arrears, and those who are more financially stable.

Financial wellbeing – the scale of the challenge

Helping people to create good financial well-being is one of MaPS key strategic goals.

We know that poor financial wellbeing, affecting tens of millions of people, is holding the UK back. There are 52 million adults in this country, of whom:

• 9m adults are either missing payments or feeling like keeping up with their bills is a heavy burden
• 11.5 million have less than £100 in savings
• 24 million do not feel confident making decisions about financial products and services

Financial wellbeing in the workplace

Almost 8 in 10 UK employees take their money worries to work, affecting their performance.

However, fortunately, there are ways employers can champion financial wellbeing. It is about feeling secure and in control.

This means knowing that you can pay the bills today, can deal with the unexpected, and are on track for a healthy financial future.

In short; confident and empowered. That is our definition at MaPS, and we provide free, impartial guidance that help individuals make sound financial choices.

Why does this matter to employers?

Money worries are the biggest cause of stress for UK employees. This is damaging to organisations too, often resulting in staff sickness. So, the case for financial wellbeing at work is compelling with 4.2 million worker days each year lost in absences because of a lack of financial wellbeing.

Talk Money Week from 8-12 November and its benefits:

MaPS runs campaigns to help improve financial wellbeing. One of the largest is Talk Money Week which this year will be held from the 8th to 12th November.

Talk Money Week aims to:

• Increase people’s sense of financial wellbeing by encouraging them to open about personal finance
• Give people the confidence and tools they need to have more open conversations about money
• Build money conversations into people’s everyday lives
• More importantly: understand the importance of financial wellbeing

Research shows that employees who have more open and honest conversations about money are able to make better and less risky financial decisions.

During the upcoming Talk Money Week, I’ll be joining a coffee chat hosted by the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter we are going to discuss financial wellbeing, Talk Money Week, and how employers can engage effectively on this topic. In the meantime, if you would like to contact me to learn more about financial wellbeing and the independent support that MaPS can provide for free then please click on the link below:

https://moneyandpensionsservice.org.uk/financial-wellbeing-in-north-west-england/