MaPS CEO Oliver Morley on what financial security looks like for the modern workforce
Back in 2019, before furlough, lockdown and Professor Chris Whitty were headline news, the Department for Work and Pensions announced the launch of arms-length body the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) to help improve the nation’s financial wellbeing.
A core aim of the new body was to deliver a pensions dashboard where a user’s pensions, from across their career, could all be seen in one place. It was a huge project predicted to cost £235 million in 2020. Yet by 2023, the predicted cost had risen to £289 million, with no sign of the dashboard yet in sight.
A damning National Audit Office (NAO) report in May 2024 exposed a series of failures which had led to delays, ballooning costs, and an industry hungry for genuine tech development. It was already clear that MaPS needed change at the top, someone who had a good track record of surpassing targets and all importantly, on deadline. Ahead of the NAO’s report, in February 2024, Oliver Morley became the chief executive responsible for the delivery of the all-important dashboard.
“I’m somewhat unusual in that I’ve become more of a chief executive rather than having a specialism, says Morley. “It’s not always true of people in the public sector, but I’ve got quite a good track record of successful delivery.”
Morley’s career spans roles at Reuters, The National Archives, DVLA and the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), where Morley first entered the fascinating, if not confusing, world of pensions.
He says: “I joined the public sector because I really do believe that you can improve things. It’s very easy to complain when you’re on the outside and the reality is that these are some of the most interesting issues and challenges that we have to deal with.
“I feel there’s a really strong value in doing this kind of public service. MaPS is where I’ve been able to most directly impact people’s lives for the better.
MaPS delivers across five core functions: pension guidance, debt advice, money guidance, consumer protection and strategy for financial wellbeing. Its impartial money guidance aims to help people feel more able to manage their money, with its customer-facing brand, MoneyHelper, a core component.
Morley describes his first few months listening to the money concerns of the nation as eye-opening.
He says: “It’s a pretty different world [to his], I’m very conscious of my privilege, I’ve been very lucky so I’m not going to pretend I haven’t. And that’s why I really must get out and listen, and really hear what’s going on.
“It’s easy to say people in debt have got themselves into big spending. But the one thing I’ve realised is that very rarely happens. For the most part, what has happened to people has not been through their own fault, but just because the system is incredibly complex to navigate and you can make a bad decision one day.
“You could get a parking ticket, then bailiffs are chasing you, and you just completely forgot about it because you’ve got a whole lot of other things going on in life.”
A clear view of retirement
It’s this desire for change which has spurred Morley into action on the long-awaited, and much-needed, pensions dashboard.
“One of the reasons I was so interested in the dashboard is how transformative it will be for people. Given the fragmentation of pensions, changes from auto-enrolment and people doing a lot of different jobs across their life as opposed to having a single job, in financial freedom terms, being able to understand the details is not only transformative, but also essential.”
Pensions minister Emma Reynolds announced earlier this week (Wednesday 23 October) that MaPS had conducted a formal reset process of the dashboard service, and generated a new delivery plan.
Interviewed before the announcement, it was clear Morley had an appetite for rapid and immediate transformation.
He says: “From the point of view of getting some of the early guidance out, we told the market it would be spring, and people expected classic public sector delays and for it to be July.
“But we delivered it before the end of March, so it’s really important for me that we get a degree of consistency in terms of delivery. I’ve got some good people on it, and it feels like we’re definitely now on a much better track.”
MaPS has now begun testing the connections for dashboards and launch of the MoneyHelper dashboard service, before its next stage of connecting commercial dashboard services.
With pensions a complex landscape for experts, never mind employees, what does Morley recommend for employers wanting to improve pensions engagement in their organisations?
“As a manager of organisations myself, I know it’s sometimes quite difficult to convey the full benefits message of pensions.
“It’s ok for managers to be clear with employees about some of the implications of not having a pension and how to manage it.
“We work really hard in terms of trying to get the message out about pensions, and if I could encourage REBA members to do one thing, it’s to encourage their employees to understand where it is, how much money you’ve got there and what it’s likely to give in your life.”
The Labour government has already made headlines in its action regarding the Pensions Review and has brought to Parliament a new Employment Rights Bill. Does this mean MaPS will be given a larger role in government moving forward?
Morley says: “I can’t talk politics of course, but it’s very clear that this government has a strong focus on financial inclusion. It’s going to be really interesting and we’re looking forward to working with them.
“From a ministerial point of view, they’ve come in with some pretty clear views for where they want to go.”
Morley shies away from direct answers to REBA’s questions around the pots for life framework and an increase of auto-enrolment, two pensions measures which will no doubt be under scrutiny over the coming months.
But he admits he is conflicted on whether changes to auto-enrolment would be welcomed by savers.
He says: “You’re balancing two things there around personal freedom to make changes. Auto-enrolment did a really great thing by offering greater financial freedoms in the future, but it still removed a degree of freedom from people in the first place.”
Empowering tomorrow’s savers
Aside from the dashboard project, MaPS is aiming to work closer with employers in their role in offering financial advice, which Morley acknowledges is a huge challenge given the heavily regulated space.
“We are starting to work with more employers on how to give people the ability to train those who are in contact with employees trying to make huge financial decisions. For employers, it’s about making sure they’re in a position to know where they can signpost to.
“We’ve seen some really great work being done with employers on making sure that they’re understanding their employees’ situation better and giving them avenues to improve things.
“Even if an employee is earning the living wage, there are ways in which we can make sure that people are getting the working benefits they’re entitled to, and that they’re supported in ways that make sense to them. And the employer plays a huge role in that.”
Morley has the opportunity to oversee a once in a lifetime evolution of the pensions industry and help improve savings outcomes for future generations. With the eyes of the industry keeping close watch, the pressure (and clock) is on.
