Government-backed financial guidance body the Money and Pensions Service (MAPS) has appointed 11 leaders tasked with transforming UK financial wellbeing over the next 10 years.

They include Sir Hector Sants, chair of MAPS; Emma Douglas, head of DC at Legal & General Investment Management; Jackie Lieper, workplace savings and distribution director at Scottish Widows and Paul Farmer, chief executive of mental health charity MIND.

The leaders will run 11 'Challenge Groups' covering areas such as financial services education, long term savings, gender, mental health, debt advice and other key areas.

They will recommend how the UK can achieve the five national goals set out in the recently-announced, government-backed UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing. The campaign was launched by MAPS in January to help UK consumers “make the most of their money and pensions.”

The five goals for 2030 are:

• Financial Foundations: 2m more children and young people getting a “meaningful financial education”  
• Nation of savers: 2m more working age people - who are currently struggling - saving regularly    
• Credit counts: 2m fewer people regularly turning to credit to pay for food or bills   
• Better debt advice: 2m people getting the debt advice they need; currently only 32% of those who need debt advice access it   
• Future focus: 5m more people understanding enough to plan for their later lives - and during them 

MAPS wants to transform ‘national financial wellbeing’ for millions who currently struggled to stay on top of the money. The body said in January that 22m people do not know how to save properly for retirement and 11.5m others have less than £100 in savings for a rainy day. 

MAPS says in addition to the chairs, the groups will include leaders and specialists from the public, private and third sectors. 

The Challenge Groups will be asked to create “bold and innovative proposals.” Starting points could include expanding existing financial education programmes, increasing the take up of payroll savings by employers and tackling the availability of affordable credit products, says MAPS. 

The strategy will also examine factors which can make people “particularly susceptible” to financial detriment including poor mental health and gender. 

The recommendations will be reviewed by a group board in the summer and 'delivery plans' for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be launched in the autumn. 

Caroline Siarkiewicz, chief executive of the Money and Pensions Service, said:  “Transforming financial wellbeing is too big a job for any one organisation or even one sector. Our UK Strategy lays down the gauntlet in terms of what the country needs to aim for and I’m delighted to see so many inspiring people ready to join us and take up the challenge.”

The Challenge Chairs are:   

Source: MAPS. Note: Sacha Romanovitch is chairing 2 groups and Eric Leenders and Sarah Porretta are jointly chairing 1 group.

• Editor's Note: Story updated 26.02.20 to make clear the number of leaders and joint chairing. Table also updated. Story also corrected to state Sir Hector Sants is chair, not chief executive. Apologies for the error.