Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.
Savings is the most common and, often, most effective tool that households can use to manage the unexpected and maintain a baseline level of financial security. Lack of savings, on the other hand, is a primary driver of most of the financial security challenges facing people and families.
Over the past five years, Aspen FSP has deeply investigated many aspects of households’ financial lives, from income volatility to debt, housing to caregiving, and short-term stability to retirement security. Looking across our work in all of these areas, eight foundational truths emerge; our new brief also includes four design principles for creating inclusive savings opportunities.
Policymakers and employers can use this brief to gain a new perspective on the many ways that savings undergird every aspect of financial security, learn what innovative leaders across sectors are doing now, and take action to ensure that the financial tools and benefits they provide are conducive to building both short- and long-term savings.
States working with the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program put forward a shared set of “North Stars” that define good public benefits delivery. Amid challenges to our benefits system, these North Stars are more important than ever.
Benefits screeners are a popular tool for increasing benefits access. This report offers a framework for benefits leaders to understand the role screeners play and assess their effectiveness.
Young adults today are coming of age in a volatile economic and political environment. We spoke with 12 young people about how they are navigating the transition to adulthood and what it means for public trust more broadly.
Young adults are grappling with sweeping changes to the U.S. benefits system under OBBBA. This paper illustrates these impacts and offers recommendations that can help young adults.
Leveraging a first-of-its-kind database, the Workers’ Wealth Lab uses retirement plan data to identify the tools and design features that can improve our retirement savings system. Read the report from the 2025 Lab.
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.
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.
Mike Wilkening’s work as a public servant has followed a simple philosophy: government in service of its people. In this blog, he shares more about his leadership approach and his position as an Aspen FSP Fellow.
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?
