Financial services industry come together to call for dormant assets to be used to fund early financial education

Today key stakeholders across the UK financial services industry and financial education sector came together to call on the Government to ensure sustainable funding for the delivery of high-quality and effective financial education for children and young people across the country.

Nearly 30 leading stakeholders, including DCMS, TISA UK and GoHenry, attended an industry-focused roundtable event, hosted by the financial education charity the Centre for Financial Capability, to participate in a discussion on the industry’s opinion of the dormant assets consultation and why it is important for a proportion of the unclaimed dormant asset monies to be used to fund financial education for children across the UK.

Following the passing of the Dormant Assets Act earlier this year, the Dormant Assets Scheme has been expanded to include assets from insurance, pensions, investment and wealth management, and securities and an additional £880 million of unclaimed assets will be released.  The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and the Government is now inviting organisations and individuals to contribute to the Dormant Assets Consultation which will inform the good causes the funds should be used for, which include youth, financial inclusion, social investment and community wealth funds.

For the past year, the Centre has been campaigning for a portion of these funds to be put towards sustainable financial education for primary school children. The charity engaged with parliamentarians in the House of Commons and House of Lords during the passing of the Dormant Asset Bill, many of whom were supportive of unlocked assets being used to in part fund financial education programmes across the UK.

Shockingly, 96% of teenagers are worried about money daily, and over half of teenagers are set to be in debt by the time they are 17. A June 2021 survey, conducted on behalf of the Centre, also found that 25% of children as young as 6 are more anxious about money because of the pandemic. These statistics are truly worrying, and it is crucial, now more than ever, that children’s concerns about money are addressed. Research from the Money and Pensions Service shows that money forming habits are formed as early as seven years old, making financial education at a primary level vital to future financial stability. As the cost of living crisis has a detrimental impact on young people, it is more important than ever that the next generation are equipped with the necessary tools to help them prepare against future economic shocks.   

Trustee of The Centre for Financial Capability Carol Knight said:

“It was fantastic to speak at this important industry roundtable today on behalf of The Centre and see the UK financial services sector come together to unite behind the common good cause of financial education. 

We are currently in a position where millions of primary-aged children do not receive any financial education and the identified dormant assets set to be released presents an opportune moment to ensure sustainable funding for the delivery of primary school financial education across the UK. The link between poor financial capability and unclaimed assets is intrinsic and has resulted in the billions of stranded assets the Government find themselves with today. It is therefore essential that Government consider industry’s calls for investment in prevention and education, to ensure young people can live financially independent adult lives.”

1. The dormant assets industry roundtable took place on the 15^th September 2022. The event was chaired by Trustee of The Centre for Financial Capability Carol Knight and speakers included Lord Watson of Invergowrie, Trustee of The Centre and Co-founder of GoHenry Louise Hill and Head of Responsible Business at Quilter and member of The Centre Stewart Perry.
2. The Centre for Financial Capability is a charity, with a mission to ensure every child in the UK develops the skills and behaviours necessary to navigate critical financial decisions in their life – starting from primary school. This charity has been formed by the backers of KickStart Money, an award-winning coalition of financial services firms founded in response to ground-breaking research by the Money and Pensions Service that showed money habits are formed by age 7. Now, having proven the impact of early intervention financial education, the members of Kickstart Money are putting their commitment on a longer-term more sustainable footing to combat the key challenges preventing effective financial education for all. The Centre will champion a diverse and long-term programme of work, which will consist of continuing to fund the KickStart Money programme, fostering innovation, building evidence and supporting research and campaigning for change. More information about the charity can be found at: www.tcfc.org.uk.
3. The supporters of the Centre for Financial Capability include Abrdn, the ABI, Aviva, AXA Investment Managers, Columbia Threadneedle Investments, CQS, Franklin Templeton, GoHenry, Janus Henderson Investors, Legal & General Investment Management, Liontrust Asset Management, M&G Investments, Newton Investment Management, Quilter, Schroders and St James’s Place Wealth Management.
4. The Government’s dormant asset consultation is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-the-english-portion-of-dormant-assets-funding#:~:text=The%20government%20has%20launched%20a,a%20wider%20range%20of%20sectors.