- Projects supported by over £1.2m in research funding worked on over the year
- 24 reports, research projects and books were published in 2024
- Active projects include research on financial strain caused by income volatility and international analysis of financial capability to support policy development in South Africa.
The Centre for Personal Financial Wellbeing (CPFW) at Aston University has released its annual review for 2024 showing significant development in its third full year of operation.
The Centre's research focuses on the three key themes of developing everyday personal finance, creating personal financial resilience and revealing the underlying principles of effective personal financial wellbeing. Its aims are to address effective financial strategies for diverse demographics, exploring the balancing of spending and savings in practice to foster a 'nation of savers' and to better understand the foundational principles to define and measure financial wellbeing.
During 2024, more than 1200 individuals actively participated in its events or events members of the Centre spoke at, demonstrating widespread community engagement, up from around 500 the year before. The Centre collaborated with 62 organisations (up from 34 in 2023), hosted 18 events over the year as a Centre and published 24 reports, research papers and books, demonstrating its commitment to knowledge dissemination.
Amongst a range of projects,this included its key role in ‘Real Accounts’, a groundbreaking, 10-month, financial diaries study led by Nest Insight and in conjunction with colleagues based at Glasgow Caledonian University’s Yunus Centre. This work uncovered and detailed the financial strain caused by the ‘volatility premium’ – the huge extra cost incurred by those increasing numerbs living on volatile incomes
Additionally, an international collaboration between Professor Andy Lymer and Dr Lin Tian in the Centre, with Professor Bernadene de Clercq and colleagues from the University of South Africa, provided a comprehensive segmentation analysis of extensive national financial capability data to support the South African government in planning its future spending related to financial capability development. Key findings from this work were presented to the South African Government’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority and the National Treasury in November 2024, with further developments ongoing in 2025.
The Centre’s online reach saw more than 10,000 individuals engage across its social media, highlighting its digital impact. It also secured an increase in new funding for several new projects, meaning that it worked on projects with external funding totalling more than £1.2m over the year.
Professor Andy Lymer, director of the CPFW at Aston University, said:
“2024 has been a year of significant development for the Centre for Personal Financial Wellbeing, with leaps forward in the levels of engagement, engagement in impactful research, and growing numerb and range of exciting collaborations that are helping the Centre’s team to shape the future of financial wellbeing.
“Our work - whether through large-scale studies like Real Accounts, international partnerships, or expanding community outreach - continues to provide crucial insights into how people manage their finances in practice, and how we can support them better.
“None of this would be possible without the dedication of our incredible team and the invaluable contributions from our partners and participants. The increased participation and funding we’ve secured this year will help us drive even greater impact in 2025 and beyond.”
The Centre encourages anyone who would like to engage with them to reach out, join their socials and contribute to discussions online or attend one of its events.
To see the full annual review from the CPFW, see the Centre's web pages.
- Notes to Editors
Other projects the Centre has been or continues to be engaged in includes:
work on energy literacy, work with ethnic minority-led businesses on issues of personal financial risk and reward, on men and childcare costs, on poverty alleviation strategies and development of effective partnerships to address poverty at local levels, on gender and financial wellbeing, on gambling harm and financial wellbeing, on better understanding how financial wellbeing varies across the UK and on how migrant communities develop financial wellbeing.For over a century, Aston University’s enduring purpose has been to make our world a better place through education, research and innovation, by enabling our students to succeed in work and life, and by supporting our communities to thrive economically, socially and culturally.
Aston University’s history has been intertwined with the history of Birmingham, a remarkable city that once was the heartland of the Industrial Revolution and the manufacturing powerhouse of the world.
Born out of the First Industrial Revolution, Aston University has a proud and distinct heritage dating back to our formation as the School of Metallurgy in 1875, the first UK College of Technology in 1951, gaining university status by Royal Charter in 1966, and becoming The Guardian University of the Year in 2020.
Building on our outstanding past, we are now defining our place and role in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (and beyond) within a rapidly changing world.
For media inquiries in relation to this release, contact Sam Cook, Press and Communications Manager, on (+44) 7446 910063 or email: s.cook2@aston.ac.uk
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Further details on each of these projects, and other work the Centre is engaged in, can be found on its website.
More about CPFW
Established in 2021, the Centre for Personal Financial Wellbeing is an interdisciplinary research centre that seeks to get the heart of the causes and consequences of personal and household financial insecurity.
It focuses on providing accessible and timely insights to support a wide range of leaders and decision makers including those in, the financial service industry, third sector organisations, academics as well as the general public.
About Aston University