Benefits Guru Financial Wellness Ratings 2024
We extend our congratulations to Scottish Widows on their commendable performance in the Financial Wellness Rating! These esteemed awards, powered by the Finance Technology Research Centre, identify providers demonstrating a strong commitment to employee financial well-being.
Scottish Widows’ achievement in securing a gold rating for their offerings underscores their dedication to providing valuable tools and services that empower both employers and employees. This recognition is a testament to their ongoing efforts to promote financial resilience and security within the workplace.
We applaud Scottish Widows for their well-deserved recognition and their focus on fostering a financially healthy future for their customers.
Financial Wellness with & without Open Finance
OPEN BANKING:
Scottish Widows have partnered with a third party to deliver open finance technology via their workplace pension proposition. This will include data from current/savings accounts and credit cards, including joint accounts. They can connect with the majority of high street and challenger banks. There is no limit to the number of accounts which can be connected, and they will automatically categorise all transactions. Scottish Widows use the open banking data to help drive better personalised financial outcomes for the end user with intelligent messages to help with spending, saving and debt.
DEBT MANGEMENT:
Although Scottish Widows do not currently offer full Debt Management solution as part of their proposition, they do however provide educational content regarding debt management via the member portal and app. This is also covered in under their financial education.
EMERGENCY CASH FUND:
Although Scottish Widows do not facilitate members to create an Emergency Cash Fund (ECF) they do provide educational / learning literature about why an ECF is important via the online member portal.
FINANCIAL EDUCATION (personalised content):
Scottish Widows provide personalised financial education to their members, which is based on their age and selected retirement date. This includes information on what a pension is, the state pension, death benefits, retirement options, investment options and savings. They also provide information on wills and help setting one up. This is delivered via online support.
MICRO SAVING FUCTIONALITY:
Scottish Widows currently do not offer services in this area
VULNERABLE CUSTOMERS:
Scottish Widows have a very strong process in place in order to help identify vulnerable customers. They follow the FCA four principles to ensure fair treatment and have a dedicated team to identify and address vulnerable customers. All frontline staff are trained annually, and they have a dedicated webpages & areas in the member app/portal to provide additional support. They have also partnered with the following charities and support groups: Macmillan, Mental Health UK and We Are Digital
BUDGETING & GOAL SETTING:
Scottish Widows provide a budget management tool they can create spending and retirement goals. They also have a savings goal function along with a budget shortfall calculator.
FINANCIAL HEALTH CHECK:
Scottish Widows provide a Financial Health Check tool to help members better understand their current financial health via the client portal. They will look at levels of spending, saving and debt, and factor in all saving vehicles, cash and debt to highlight what financial decisions a user need to make in order to achieve their goals.
HELP TO BUY
Scottish Widows currently do not offer services in this area
SAVINGS VECHILES & SMART SAVINGS
Scottish Widows currently offer stocks & shares ISA and GIA. They allow transfers in from previous year ISA’s from other institutions. All available products allow one off payments to be made by the member via the app or portal, bank transfer, employer/payroll and direct contact via email/call. They have also incorporated the option for the users to apply a ‘contribution holiday’ during times of difficultly or in months with abnormally high spending.
Our annual ratings are designed to assist advisers, providers and employers in their decision-making process and highlight which providers have the greatest strengths, all the awards and the accompanying provider factsheets please visit www.benefitsguru.co.uk/ratings/ click on relevant areas of their pension propositions.
