- Description of the programme
- The study
- Key findings
- Points to consider
Description of the programme
[This is an extract from the Executive Summary of the evaluation report. Further amendments may be made to this Summary, pending review by the Evidence Hub partner]
Acquiring financial skills is important for older people. Although compared to the overall population, older people tend to save more and manage their money better, but face specific issues including digital exclusion, lack of planning for long-term care, reluctance to talk about money, and significant decline in financial skills and knowledge with age.
In response to this, Toynbee Hall ran a one-year peer-to-peer financial information sharing pilot project aimed at older people (aged 55 or above and in retirement) with funding from the Money Advice Service’s (MAS) ‘What Works Fund’. Sixteen service users from five Linkage Plus partner agencies – centres offering one-stop services for older people – were trained informally as Money Mentors – people trained in personal finance management and mentoring to become community money mentors – and supported to develop resources for sharing their learning with 65 other services users (referred to as secondary beneficiaries) from their centres through 15 sessions.
The study
The University of Salford conducted the evaluation of the project. Drawing on a before and after survey of participants, focus group and interviews with participants, project documentation and staff interviews, the evaluation sought to answer the following questions:
- How can we help older people, post retirement, to manage their finances through key life events and to plan ahead for later life?
- How can we help people in later life guard against financial scams?
Key findings
- Although mixed and slightly contradictory, overall the findings suggest that the money mentors became more confident in managing their finances and planning for the future.
- The interviews and the discussions in the focus group suggest that the training motivated the mentors to take steps in relation to managing and preparing for key life events. This improvement in confidence and motivation was partly because completing the training underlined their ability to acquire new skills and knowledge despite their age. This newfound ability to learn, motivated the money mentors to look into other courses and skills.
- There were also some examples of them taking steps in planning for events as a result of the training. There was an increase in the number of mentors with a rough or concrete plan from five to eleven. Two of them also reported that the information and guidance presented in the training had spurred them to write wills.
- As many of the issues facing this group (e.g. illness, prolonged hospital stays, requiring social care etc.) require complex solutions (in legal and financial terms), we may only be able to determine the extent to which the money mentors are more likely to plan ahead as a result of the training over a longer time period.
- The results point to an increased level of awareness about the risks and forms of financial scams. The mentors interviewed and taking part in the focus groups stressed that they had increased their knowledge about scams, including the different forms of scams and the steps they needed to take. They especially highlighted the importance of not calling their bank immediately after being called to do so, as scammers often remain on the line on completing the call. They also appeared acutely aware that older people were particularly at risk of scams. If this reported increase in awareness makes them less likely to be victims of scams in the future will only become clear over time.
- The results suggest that if appropriately designed and delivered, it is possible to engage older people in financial education they find relevant and rewarding. The observations from the trainers and the money mentors suggest that:
- The recruitment of older people for the training is more effective when one is aware of the apprehensions of older people, as well as recognising the importance of trust and rapport between trainers and recipients;
- Older people need a supportive and encouraging setting adjusted to their particular needs and requirements. This includes friendly and encouraging facilitators, support for participants with mobility issues to attend activities, and having videos and visual material adjusted for visually impaired. The training, it was found, works best when it is structured, interactive, and task-orientated and conducted in small groups with more than one trainer.
- Staff and money mentor interviews suggest that the mentors were also able to share information with other users with some support:
- Older people need additional support, guidance and encouragement to overcome apprehensions about developing and running peer-to-peer information sharing sessions. This includes building participants’ confidence in being able to run such sessions and help in developing lesson plans;
- Structured game-based activities with set content work well for information sharing, as they do not rely on remembering technical knowledge and lower barriers for non-native speakers of English.
- Questionnaires and testimonies suggest the secondary beneficiaries enjoyed the sessions and learnt something new.
- The capacity building of partner organisations did not take place as envisaged because of a lack of take-up of training offered, though they were given game-based resources to run future information sharing sessions. Indeed, given the relative resource and time-intensive nature of project recruitment and delivery, a scaled up version of the project would require greater involvement of partner organisations, including in recruiting money mentors, hosting training sessions and supporting the mentors in delivering peer-to-peer sharing sessions.
Points to consider
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Methodological limitations:
- The small scale of the project (16 participants) reduced the potential sample sizes and the ability to determine if the changes observed were statistically significant.
- Without a control group or an experimental project design randomising beneficiaries or locations, it is difficult to say with any certainty if the observable changes are due to the intervention in question.
- It may require a longer evaluation timeframe to determine if the project produces some longer-term outcomes for the participants (e.g. being victim of scams etc.).
Full report
Senior Money Mentors - full report
