NS&I provides financial education on the high street

NS&I is increasing its efforts to help the British public get control of their finances by providing free personal finance guides through its marketing partnership with WHSmith. The guides are now available in over 300 stores across the UK. Topics covered include: ‘Kids and money', ‘Retirement', ‘Later life' and ‘Bereavement'. The range of guides also covers NS&I's product range, managing money securely with NS&I when saving online and by phone, and Premium Bonds.

The guides are based on NS&I's youandyourmoney.info website which was developed as part of NS&I's commitment to furthering financial capability amongst UK consumers. The You and your money website contains information written by independent experts, and provides practical financial guidance to help with preparing for major life events such as having children, retirement and managing the financial aspects of bereavement, as well as the basics of saving.

John Prout, Director of Customer Sales, NS&I, said: "WHSmith has long been a valuable source of education and information on the high street. We are delighted to combine this heritage with NS&I's financial expertise, to offer practical financial guidance on the high street, helping people to prepare for major life stages from having children to later life. These guides have been developed especially for those who want to take control of their money, but don't know where to start, and underline our commitment to encouraging greater financial capability amongst consumers."

"We know that many of our customers would benefit from this type of service. For example, we deal sympathetically with around 300,000 bereavements each year - a time when access to simple and clear information is so important. Like any other financial provider, NS&I has a role to play in encouraging and showing our customers how to best manage their finances, and we hope that this will go a long way to doing just that."

Tish Hanifan, Chairman of the Society of Later Life Advisers, said: "Financial information on the high street is a valuable resource for every member of the public to seek out and benefit from. All too often people stumble across situations in life for which they are not fully prepared, because finance matters can seem daunting. NS&I is making it easier for people to prepare for their future circumstances from having children, to planning for a comfortable retirement."

At the same time NS&I has expanded the You and your money website (www.youandyourmoney.info) to include a new section on how to prepare for later life, including the options available for long term care. Tish Hanifan continued: "With increasing longevity planning for later life has never been more important. There are a lot of issues to consider, from making provision for a pension, through to having to think about care funding and how it will impact upon themselves and their families. An informed consumer is able to begin to make better choices and this will undoubtedly help determine their quality of life in later years."