Communities
50,000 plus savers for the future
ANZ’s flagship financial wellbeing program Saver Plus reaches 50,000 participant milestone and assists lower income Australians to save more than $26 million for education costs.
Savings program leads to success
1 Mar 2022
“Before Saver Plus I never used a budget but now I track my expenses regularly. I want to save money to have an emergency fund for when unexpected expenses come up.” Kimi, Saver Plus participant.
Kimi, Saver Plus participant Queensland
The Saver Plus financial wellbeing program has seen significant changes over the past couple of years. From transitioning to a virtual program, additional staff training, to updating program content, COVID-19 forced some changes for the better.
However it won’t stop there. Janet Liu, Head of Social Impact and Community ANZ says with a long-term plan to enhance the program further, there’s a lot to be excited about.
Saver Plus is still one of the only financial education programs in Australia to be delivered remotely and online.
“With more than 70 per cent of Saver Plus participants being single parents, virtual sessions delivered by Saver Plus Coordinators are much more convenient, family friendly and accessible,” Janet says.
“We were surprised by how enthusiastically participants embraced the transition to virtual delivery. Our initial research shows many time poor parents were actually purposefully searching for online financial education and support.”
While the virtual transition happened because of the pandemic, it has opened up possibilities to delivery financial education in a different way. We are looking at innovative ways to make the program even more accessible and inclusive for participants in the future,” she says.
Recognised with the Team Champions Award at this month’s Financial Inclusion Conference is confirmation Saver Plus is making a significant impact in the community.
“The Team Champions Award is wonderful recognition of the program’s achievements in innovation over the past two years. It also acknowledges how hard Saver Plus Coordinators across the country have worked to adapt and upskill themselves so they can continue to support participants remotely,” Janet says.
“I’m so grateful to be working with partner organisations who are willing try out new ideas.”
Kimi’s story
Kimi, Saver Plus participant from Queensland, joined the program in 2020 while working part time at McDonalds and studying a Bachelor of Psychology full-time at Griffith University.
At 18 years old, Kimi is full-time guardian and carer for her two siblings. By creating a budget as part of the program Kimi was able to save $25 each fortnight to purchase a laptop for her sister to use at school.
“I was really excited as I didn’t even miss the money and yet I could see the savings account growing. I never thought I would be able to do this before,” Kimi says.
With the knowledge she gained on the program Kimi has since helped her sister open a bank account, a savings account and get a job. She is now supporting her with her goal of saving to buy her first car when she gets her learner’s permit next year.
“I learnt so much about budgeting effectively and planning for the future in the MoneyMinded financial education workshops,” Kimi says “I can’t wait to pass this knowledge onto my siblings and continue my long-term goal to save and buy my own apartment.”
ANZ is proud to partner with Brotherhood of St Laurence (BSL), The Smith Family and Berry Street to deliver Saver Plus, the world’s largest and longest running matched savings and financial education program developed by BSL and ANZ. The program is co-funded by ANZ and Department of Social Services.
Saver Plus started with just 50 participants in 2003 has enabled more than 50,000 lower income Australians to save more than $26 million for education costs, with ANZ matching $21 million.
Janet Liu is Head of Social Impact and Community at ANZ.
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