Charity pushes for financial literacy in the workplace

Alan Pickering, chairman of the charity said employers should not only offer aid with financial literacy but use their financial acumen to bring quality products within easy reach of their employees.

Mr Pickering said understanding the importance of budgeting, saving and state benefit entitlements are fundamental for everyone, and this was the first step to starting a financial plan.

He said: “We live in a world of acronyms, jargon, complex financial products and bureaucracy all of which are barriers to understanding what we need to know for planning for a financially secure future.”

The Life Academy said the workplace offers an efficient distribution channel for financial products, and provides an environment in which financial literacy can be improved.

Mr Pickering said: “Employers are a trusted source of guidance and are ideally placed to segment their workforce according to perceived need.”

Employers have the communication vehicles in place to educate employees on company benefits, policies and news and also have time specific communications in place such as new employee inductions, company pension eligibility and pre-retirement. Mr Pickering added the FSA and Pensions Regulator have also provided reassurance to employers who wish to offer guidance rather than simply provide a financial menu.

Simon Gibson, director of Suffolk-based Atkinson Bolton Consulting, said financial education should start from as early an age as possible: “We teach children as young as three the value of money and saving, and feel it makes a positive difference.”