- Charity Announces Their Appointment to Deliver the Wealth (Money) Element of The Department for Work and Pensions’ Mid-Life MOT Initiative
- Thousands Of Working People in the North East of England Set to Benefit
- Mid-Life MOTs Will Help Older Workers Take Stock of Their Work, Wellbeing and Finances
The Money Charity, the UK’s Financial Capability charity, are delighted to announce their appointment as the delivery partner for the Wealth strand of the DWP’s Mid-Life MOT in the North East of England.
Thousands of working people across the North East of England are set to benefit from the opportunity to have a ‘Mid-Life MOT’, to guide and support them as they plan for work in later life and retirement. The Money Charity’s mission is to see the UK increase its Financial Wellbeing, meaning they are ideally suited to this project, engaging employees directly with their pensions and wider finances.
Most generations in the UK will never have received any form of Financial Education while at school and are now facing the cost of living crisis, following immediately on from the heavy financial effects of the pandemic. On top of that, people are being asked to take more responsibility for their pensions and later life financial decisions than ever before. Into that scenario, The Money Charity’s high-quality, engaging and interactive sessions will help workers across North East England to truly get to grips with their pensions and wider finances and help them plan well for the next chapter of their lives.
The DWP’s ‘Mid-Life MOT‘ initiative was introduced in 2019 to encourage older workers to take stock of their Work (career), Wellbeing (health) and Wealth (personal finances.) The MOTs act as a free review for workers in their 40s and 50s, enabling them to make the most of their remaining working years and better prepare for their future, through access to the best possible financial, health and career guidance.
Group and one-to-one sessions will be offered via the programme lead, PeoplePlus, to businesses based in the North East of England and employees who are aged between 45 and 55 are eligible to join the programme. Employees from small and medium enterprises and the self-employed are also eligible for the support.
Commissioned and funded by the Department for Work and Pensions and working in partnership with PeoplePlus, The Money Charity will deliver the ‘Wealth’ strand of the programme, supporting those aged between 45 and 55 to identify the positive steps they can take to allow them to stay in work longer and enjoy a more secure retirement. This will be done through providing one-to-one pensions information and guidance, alongside Workshops delivered by The Money Charity’s expert team. Workshops will focus on state and workplace pensions and thinking about life beyond work, as well as the important topics of Wills and planning your financial affairs in later life.
Rhiannon Byers, Head of Workplace & Community Programmes at The Money Charity says:
“We are thrilled to be working with PeoplePlus to deliver the Wealth section of the Mid-Life MOT project in North East England, funded by the Department for Work and Pensions. As the UK’s Financial Capability charity, our vision is to see people across the UK getting to grips with their money and increasing their Financial Wellbeing, so the crossover with this initiative was clear. We look forward to working with many thousands of working people to help them in planning a healthy, productive and financially stable later life.
“We believe that managing money well is possible for everyone and that finances should be seen as a positive force in our lives, helping us towards achieving our goals. For those of working age, we feel passionately that employers have a key role to play in supporting workers’ Financial Wellbeing via the workplace. We’d encourage businesses of any size across the North East, as well as anyone self-employed, to get in touch with PeoplePlus to find out more.”
Launching the Mid-Life MOT project’s expansion last year*, Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion Guy Opperman said:
“The challenges we’ve faced over the last few years have highlighted the importance of Financial Resilience. As people live longer and healthier lives, planning for work, wealth and wellbeing in later life is vital.
“Our Mid-Life MOT expansion will give people the tools they need to assess where they currently are and how they can get to where they want to be, whether it’s that next career move or ensuring they’re on track for the retirement they want.”
Notes to Editors
- For over 25 years, The Money Charity has been the UK’s Financial Capability charity. We proactively provide education, information, advice and guidance to people of all ages, to reach our vision of seeing everyone achieving Financial Wellbeing by managing their money well. We empower people across the UK to develop the skills, knowledge, attitudes and behaviours to make the most of their money throughout their lives. Find out more at https://themoneycharity.org.uk/
- If you’ve any questions, comments, or want any information about The Money Charity’s work, please contact us through [email protected]
- PeoplePlus‘ committed teams work across Britain to deliver a range of employability and skills services on behalf of central and local government, including support to find employment, digital learning, self-employment support, independent living services, prison education and support to help employers grow and achieve their social value objectives via socially responsible recruitment practices. They set a mission in 2018 to make a difference to the lives of 1 million people by 2022 and in December 2022 that mission was achieved with an astonishing 1,001,147 number of lives impacted.
- *DWP’s description for the Wealth strand of this project: “Participants gain knowledge of their current financial position and likely retirement outcomes it is likely to translate to, i.e., by getting a State Pension Forecast, contacting their known pension provider to find out the value of their pension pots and getting some scenarios on what sort of retirement income they will provide, assuming current level of contributions. Indicative performance metrics might include increased knowledge of Participants of their pensions and that Participants gain an improved understanding of their pension arrangements.” Read more here.
- The regions from the North East of England included in this pilot are the Tees Valley, County Durham, Tyne & Wear and Northumberland.
- Any media or press enquiries should be directed to The Money Charity’s Communications & Marketing Manager, James Yelland, on [email protected]