The Cycle of Savings: What we Gain when We Understand Savings as a Dynamic Process

Sheida Isabel Elmi

Associate Director

We know saving is important – but our assumptions about why may be wrong.  A new report from Aspen Financial Security Program and members of the Consumer Insights Collaborative shows that, for many, the value in having savings available goes beyond being able to cover one-time emergency expenses.

This report illustrates the importance of the ongoing act of building, using, and replenishing savings – or “the cycle of savings” – allowing people to protect themselves against the immediate economic impacts of a pandemic, invest in family well-being, and stay on track for their longer -term goals.

The report also highlights opportunities for key actors to build products that enable people to make savings a habit.


This paper was also developed as part of the Global Inclusive Growth Partnership, a collaboration between the Aspen Institute and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, along with generous support from the BlackRock Charitable Fund, JPMorgan Chase & Co., MetLife Foundation, The Prudential Foundation, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Publications

Wealth Building at Work: How Canary’s Emergency Relief Fund Helps Workers Maintain Assets and Avoid Debt

Aspen FSP partnered with Canary, a provider of employee emergency relief funds, to explore how workers used this workplace offering when faced with financial emergencies, as well as how it impacted their financial security and experiences at work.

Publications

How Workplace Emergency Savings Accounts Can Boost Employee Well-Being

Aspen FSP partnered with SecureSave, a provider of workplace emergency savings accounts (ESAs), to survey 274 SecureSave users about their financial well-being and catalyze a conversation around ESAs.

Blog Posts

A Persistent Challenge: How Financial Shocks Continue to Undermine Family Financial Security

Most households experience at least one financial shock in a given year, but there are few comprehensive solutions to help them. How can we solve this persistent challenge?

Jason Ewas presents at the Aspen Leadership Forum on Retirement Savings.
Blog Posts

How the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion Can Scale Emergency Savings

The U.S. Treasury’s Strategy notes the need for greater coordination among the private sector and the government to scale emergency savings.

Blog Posts Publications

Rainy Days Don’t Retire: Older Adults, Financial Shocks, and the Promise of Emergency Savings Tools

Learn more about how we can tailor emergency savings tools to older adults.

Blog Posts

At a Tipping Point: The Workplace Emergency Savings Landscape as SECURE 2.0 Implementation Begins in 2024

As we enter a post-SECURE 2.0 world, we offer policymakers and employers fresh evidence that supports four pillars of the emergency savings field.

Blog Posts

Ideas That Shaped 2022

Blog Posts

We Can Advance Economic Equity Through Automatic Enrollment for Emergency Savings

Policymakers can make emergency savings easier for people with low and moderate incomes.