Friends launches quarterly Workplace Savings Index
Friends Life has launched its Workplace Savings Index to give an indication of the state of health of work-based savings, according to Martin Palmer, its head of corporate benefits marketing.
The quarterly index will use data from workplace pension schemes run by Friends Life and comes at a time when funding for retirement is of increasing importance.
Mr Palmer said: “Long-term saving remains vitally important to ensuring financial well-being for consumers in retirement.
“Our new index will track consumer behaviour and analyse the sentiment that drives it, giving an indication of current investment behaviour. We will be able to witness the effects of market sentiment, economic pressures and new regulation like auto-enrolment on workplace savings behaviour.”
Mr Palmer added the Friends Life Workplace Savings Index is based on anonymised customer data from more than 1m of Friends Life’s pension customer accounts, and will provide vital insight into four areas of long-term saving: risk, returns, asset diversification and contribution levels.
Friends Life hopes by tracking these measures over time, the effect of economic events on consumer behaviour can be analysed to present a regular picture of the state of work-based savings, aiding policy makers, providers and advisers in delivering solutions to retirement needs.
Will Palmer, financial development manager for Doncaster-based Atkinson Smith, said: “The index will be a good tool to get people talking about pensions.
“But I don’t think this will revolutionise pensions savings.”