UK Government publishes Financial Inclusion Strategy

The UK Treasury published its Financial Inclusion Strategy on 5 November 2025, setting out how it intends to tackle barriers to individuals' and households' access to affordable and appropriate financial products and services¹. The strategy also commits the government to making financial education compulsory in primary schools in England¹.

The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) said the strategy covers how the Treasury "could tackle barriers to individuals' and households' ability to access affordable and appropriate financial products and services"¹. Its president, Paul Sweeting, said the strategy would help raise the profile of financial inclusion¹.

The Building Societies Association (BSA), which represents all 42 UK building societies, both mutual-owned banks and 7 of the largest credit unions, also welcomed the strategy². Andrew Gall, the BSA's Head of Savings and Economics, said the government's commitments include support for the credit union sector through updates to common bond and credit union legislation, and funding from Fair4All Finance to support credit union transformation². The BSA also welcomed the strategy's endorsement of UK Savings Week and the decision on compulsory financial education in primary schools in England².

The IFoA said it was pleased to see the strategy refer to a pilot led by Fair4All Finance, in partnership with IFoA members and others, "to explore the uptake of contents insurance among social renters in England"¹. It said the pilot followed an IFoA roundtable with academics, industry experts and consumer advocates on increasing financial resilience through a minimum level of insurance protection for all¹. The IFoA has previously published work on the poverty premium in insurance with Fair By Design in September 2021, and its Great Risk Transfer campaign, published in April 2021, which it says highlights how risk has been transferred over time from large institutions to individuals¹.

The BSA said its recent research with Bristol University shows the benefit of saving even small amounts in terms of wellbeing and resilience against financial shocks². It said credit unions are already providing a large number of payroll savings schemes, helping people to save directly through their employer, and that it supports the National Coalition on Payroll Savings².

Why it matters for households

The strategy concerns access to affordable financial products and services, and the government's stated commitment to compulsory financial education in primary schools in England applies to schools in England only¹. The commitments the BSA identifies cover credit union legislation and Fair4All Finance funding for credit union transformation, which affect how credit unions can lend and to whom². The contents insurance pilot referred to in the strategy concerns social renters in England and the uptake of contents cover¹. The IFoA's position is that the number and complexity of financial decisions consumers face have increased, while financial advice is often neither accessible nor affordable¹. No commencement dates for the education commitment or the legislative changes have been reported¹.

What happens next

The IFoA said it will continue to work with the government and other organisations on practical solutions so that everyone has access to appropriate and affordable financial products and services¹. The BSA said building societies and credit unions deliver financial education programmes locally which can support the initiatives². No timetable for implementation of the strategy's measures has been reported¹.