Major UK employers just launched a scheme to help workers save directly from their wages.

[00:00:00]Major UK employers just launched a scheme to help workers save directly from their wages. And my honest reaction is why has this taken so long? One in 10 adults in the UK has absolutely no cash savings. And that is not because people do not want to save. It is because by the time the bills are paid, there is nothing left to put away. So the idea here is simple. You save before the money even hits your account. It comes straight out of your wages into an easy access savings spot. And honestly, that is how it should work for a lot of people because the moment money lands in your current account, it is already mentally spent. Companies like Co-op, Next, Travel Lodge are already signing up, covering around 400,000 workers. The government is backing it as part of its financial inclusion strategy. Now, I do not think this fixes everything. If someone is genuinely struggling to cover rent and food, savings from their wages is not realistic. No matter how the system is set up, this helps people who are earning enough but not saving, not the people who are not earning enough.

[00:01:01]But for the group it is targeting, I think this is generally one of the more practical things I have seen come out of the government back initiative in a while. The question I keep coming back to is why it is still voluntary for employers. Make it default and the impact would be 10 times bigger.