Fresh insight into self-employed savers
Article
A Goldsmiths, University of London spin-off company has produced a new report with NEST Insight into long-term saving solutions for the self-employed.
The report, ‘Working for today, preparing for tomorrow’, by NEST Insight and spin-off firm i2 media research limited, reveals three large sub-groups within the self-employed population, and identifies ways in which long-term saving could be encouraged.
These findings, published on 23 October 2018, bring NEST Insight one step closer to testing solutions to address the increasing retirement savings gap between traditional workers and those who are self-employed. This new research identifies three distinct sub-groups that differ in their attitudes and motivations towards to self-employment:
- “I need to get by” – those who focus on today and making ends meet.
- “It enables me to have a good quality of life right now” – those whose decision to be self-employed is driven by their desire for flexibility, independence and control over working hours.
- “It’s my way of life” – those who derive their identity from their self-employed activities.
Over the next couple of years, NEST Insight is planning to trial a variety of approaches to increasing saving among the self-employed targeted at each of these three sub-groups ranging from incentives such as prize draws and cashback schemes, more convenient ways to save such as apps that let people save as they spend, and partnership approaches that build savings opportunities into the online platforms that self-employed people already use.
Jonathan Freeman, founder of i2 media research and Professor of Psychology at Goldsmiths University of London, said: ‘Whilst our own and previous research has demonstrated the diversity of self-employed people, one characteristic a very high proportion tend to share is that they are not saving sufficiently for their later years and the long term.
‘At i2 media research we’re really pleased to be helping to address the challenge. Our research with NEST Insight has suggested a range of ways of addressing the challenge, targeting increased engagement by self-employed people in long term savings, through solutions focused on ease, convenience, incentives, trust and flexibility.’
This story is based on an original press release by NEST Insight.
