Research & Policy

We work to illuminate the lives and experiences of low earners through our research and improve outcomes for them through our policy proposals.

Low earners through recession and recovery

All of our policy work is underpinned by our commitment to rigorous research. Our current major programme explores the experiences of low earners in the recession, and asks how low earners can be protected throughout the economic downturn, and beyond it into a period of recovery. Our report on this work, Closer to Crisis? how low earners are coping in the recession was published on 11th November. You can read more about this work in our project web pages Low earners through recession and recovery.

Low earners audit

The Foundation published its first low earners audit in March 2009. Drawing on a range of survey data, this report provided a snapshot of the UK’s 13.4 million low earners and highlighted their squeezed, exposed and overlooked position in the UK’s mixed economy.

This audit will be twice a year. The most recent update was published in March 2010, with a specific focus on the household finances of low earners. Over time we will extend and deepen the analysis, complementing the current quantitative data with original qualitative research. The next update is due to be published in August 2010.

Long-term care

The Foundation has an ongoing work programme looking at long term care. Building on our earlier work on the mixed economy of social care, we are now developing a project on market-shaping and market development in practice. We have a particular interest in addressing the needs of ‘self-funders‚ – people who have to pay for their own care – as low earners often struggle to cover the costs of care, and yet are not eligible for state support. You can read more about our work on long term care here

Financial Health

We continue to work on improving low earners financial health. We remain actively engaged with the Government’s goal of rolling out a Money Guidance Service in 2010 which followed our successful work making the case for a generic financial advice service. We also set up and chair the Financial Health Forum, which provides an overview of the financial inclusion and capability agendas. In addition, we are developing a Financial Health Index, and have produced a financial health map.

For more information about any aspect of our research and policy programme, and to discuss potential partnerships, please contact Sophia Parker.