The National Coalition for Workplace Savings was unveiled with the support of Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands in her role as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Financial Health, alongside Rachel Blake MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury. The initiative, established through the Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy, seeks to increase access to workplace savings schemes by encouraging more employers to introduce payroll savings and share best practice across sectors.

Founding signatories include organisations such as the Co-op, Next, First Bus, Mitie, Travelodge, DEFRA and StepChange, with the Coalition aiming to increase both the number of employers offering workplace savings and the number of employees regularly setting money aside through payroll. The initiative is convened by the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), Nest Insight and The Investing and Saving Alliance (TISA).

Government backs workplace savings

Announcing the launch, Rachel Blake MP said the Coalition represents an important step in helping more people build financial resilience through work.

"Everyone should have the opportunity to build financial resilience, but we know that when household budgets are stretched, saving can be difficult.

"The Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy creates more opportunities for people to save through workplace savings schemes. Working with employers across sectors, this Coalition will help make workplace savings schemes easier to access and support more working people to build regular savings habits and a financial safety net. I strongly encourage employers to get behind this scheme today."

Why workplace savings matter

The Coalition has been formed against a backdrop of continued cost-of-living pressures, with emergency savings increasingly recognised as a key component of employee financial wellbeing. Workplace savings schemes enable employees to save directly from their salary into an easy-access account, helping them build a financial buffer for unexpected expenses while reducing reliance on high-cost borrowing.

For employers, the benefits extend beyond supporting individual financial resilience. The Coalition highlights evidence that reducing money worries can improve productivity, increase job satisfaction and retention, and reduce sickness absence, making workplace savings an increasingly valuable addition to a broader reward and wellbeing strategy.

Employers unite behind a common goal

Claire Costello, Chief People Officer at the Co-op Group and Chair of the Coalition, said employers have a unique opportunity to make saving more accessible:

"Building consistent saving habits is an important part of improving financial resilience across the UK. With growing evidence of the benefits provided by workplace saving schemes, this collective of employers, supporters and partners will help more people build a financial safety net. By making saving easier and more accessible, workplace saving schemes could transform the savings landscape, and I am excited to work with all involved as the Coalition progresses."

Echoing that sentiment, Sarah Williams, Chief People Officer at OCS UK & Ireland, said workplace savings reflect the everyday financial realities faced by many employees:

"For many colleagues, the gap between a manageable month and a difficult one comes down to whether something unexpected happens. A broken car, a school trip, an appliance that needs replacing. Workplace savings schemes work because they’re built around the realities of how people actually live.

"OCS joined this Coalition because colleague financial wellbeing sits at the heart of what it means to be a responsible employer, and progress at this scale only comes when employers commit to acting together."

A call for more employers to get involved

The Coalition is now calling on more employers to become signatories and introduce workplace savings schemes, with ambitions to increase participation rates and help more employees build a meaningful savings buffer.

Employers from a broad range of sectors have already joined the initiative, alongside industry bodies, solution providers and financial wellbeing organisations committed to supporting its long-term objectives.

For reward, HR and payroll leaders, the launch reinforces the growing importance of financial wellbeing within the employee value proposition. As organisations continue to expand their reward offering beyond pay and pensions, workplace savings schemes are emerging as a practical and scalable way to support financial resilience, improve employee wellbeing and strengthen workforce engagement.