On the go: Ninety-eight per cent of people who think Nest Insight’s sidecar savings product would help them have not signed up to use it, the research unit has admitted.
In 2018, Nest Insight began trialling its sidecar savings idea. Called “Jars”, the product allows savers to “set and forget” to create a regular flow of savings contributions via payroll, with money being saved before it is “felt” in their pockets.
The idea seeks to create a link between short and long-term saving, helping savers build an emergency savings pot that they can use instead of having to take on debt, while also helping them save for retirement.
Five employers are taking part in the trial, comprising Timpson, BT, StepChange, the University of Glasgow and ITV. Nest is midway through the trial.
Speaking at a Pensions Administration Standards Association conference on May 3, Nest Insight revealed that six in 10 employees think Jars could help them.
This grows to eight in 10 of those who are struggling with bills and financial commitments, said Emma Stockdale, Nest Insight’s research trials manager.
Seventy-one per cent of those who would have to use non-cash means to pay an unexpected bill of £300 believe Jars would help them.
Jars users are persistent and active savers, Nest Insight said. Only a quarter have made “an ad hoc deposit outside payroll”, while 15 per cent have made a change to their regular payroll savings amount.
Take-up is low, however. Out of every 100 eligible employees, 57 believe the product would help them, but only 15 say that they are likely to sign up immediately or in the near future. Just one will follow through.
“Take-up is low. It’s not surprisingly low, based on our conversations with other payroll providers, so we don’t think it’s something specific to Jars,” said Stockdale.
“There is clearly an intention-action gap,” she added, drawing a comparison with pensions prior to the introduction of automatic enrolment.
