Asset-Based Welfare Policy in the U.K.
Policy Paper
Nov. 9, 2007
While traditional anti-poverty efforts have focused on maintaining a social safety net to protect the poor, there is a growing recognition that economic well-being hinges on a household’s ability to accumulate a wide range of assets. The value of assets is based not only on the economic security they provide but in how they enable people to make productive investments in their future. This approach has contributed to a wide range of policy proposals designed to help households build assets, including matched savings accounts, children’s accounts, and accessible saving plans.
Since 2000, the United Kingdom has begun implementing a number of asset-based welfare policies. Specifically, the Child Trust Fund and Saving Gateway Initiatives are generating valuable insights which may be used to develop policy innovations. The Child Trust Fund provides a $500 savings account for every child born in the UK and, with over two million accounts to date, it represents the most developed children’s savings account system in the world. The Saving Gateway is a large demonstration program designed to test the impact of matched savings incentives on the savings behavior of lower income families.
This paper describes these efforts, analyzes the initial wave of data and research produced, and assesses the policy implications of these recent findings to date. For the full text, please download the PDF attached below.