Context

The Money Advice Service (MAS) commissioned this evidence review to inform their commissioning plan for working age adults. They needed to collate and interpret current evidence on the most effective ways to support working age adults to manage their money well. This was to inform both the services that they commissioned, and to share the learning from the review (including gaps in evidence) with the wider sector.

The study

The specific aims of this 2018 review were to:

• Identify delivery approaches that are effective in improving the money management of working age adults;
• Assess the strength of evidence regarding the effectiveness of these approaches;
• Make recommendations for commissioning new interventions.

The review drew on learnings from previous MAS research, particularly the MAS market segmentation work, their UK Financial Capability Survey, and the MAS analysis of the ‘building blocks’ of financial capability. The review evaluated the efficacy of interventions that help working age adults (in this report classified as 18-54) manage their money.

The previous market segmentation work had identified three target groups that were focused on in this review:

• Young Adults (aged 18-24);
• ‘Squeezed and Struggling’ couples and families (25-34);
• ‘Squeezed and Struggling’ couples and families (35-54).

During the review process 108 pieces of evidence were collated that were relevant to this study. These included policy white papers, academic articles, insight reports, evidence reviews, evaluations of interventions, and meta-evaluations of connected programmes/interventions. Of this evidence, 56 evaluation reports met the inclusion criteria, which primarily focussed on general money management and savings interventions.

Key findings

• Seven key themes emerged, which describe some of the ingredients of successful interventions and present opportunities for scaling up and / or conducting further research:
• Workshops work well for general money management education, but one-to-one advice is needed for more complex needs.
  • Delivering flexible and tailored interventions ‘just in time’ improves engagement, when the content feels relevant and is useful to the participant immediately.
  • Money management support needs to be embedded in existing advice and support services.
  • Digital interventions can help improve money management behaviours, but confidence, access and engagement can be barriers.
  • Peer-led activities can foster engagement, but specialist advisors are needed for mentor support and specific guidance.
  • Access to high cost credit alternatives is vital, but more understanding is needed of how to tackle ‘historic’ debt.
  • Goal-setting and introducing routines are enabling new savings habits, while product features (e.g. automation and friction) can increase the total amount saved.
• Six considerations for future commissioning of money management interventions were identified by this review:
• Embed one-to-one support into services already used by target audiences;
  • Understand ‘what works’ in terms of the content of interventions;
  • Explore the impact of emerging technological/digital solutions;
  • Bring together peer educators and financial capability practitioners;
  • Collaborate on affordable credit and explore ways to tackle historic debt;
  • Test effective interventions at household or family levels.

The findings were subsequently used to inform the MAS commissioning plan for improving money management among these target groups.

Points to consider

• • This report is relevant to all stakeholders and policymakers with an interest in designing and implementing interventions aimed at improving money management skills among all age groups. However, it is particularly relevant to those looking to design interventions to improve money management behaviours among young adults (aged 18-24), and ‘squeezed and struggling’ couples and families aged 25-54.
• • The research should be relevant throughout the UK, though there may be some implications that are less pertinent in certain regions and social contexts.