Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, in her capacity as United Nations Secretary-General's Special Advocate for Financial Health, will be in London on June 16 to support the launch of the UK’s National Coalition for Workplace Savings. She will join Economic Secretary of the Treasury Rachel Blake in welcoming this new financial health initiative.
The coalition brings together a cross-sector group of leading employers in the UK, including Co-op, Next, Travelodge and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. These employers will work to increase the availability of workplace savings schemes, encouraging programs that help employees set aside a small amount of each paycheck for emergency expenses.
In 2025 the Office of National Statistics found that nearly one quarter (23%) of all people in the UK would not be able to cover an unexpected expense of £850. According to research by the Department of Work and Pensions, fewer than 10% of employers in the UK offer a workplace savings scheme. Workplace savings programs can be a boon to financial health, helping employees generate a financial buffer that protects them from unexpected shocks such as a high energy bill, damage to a home, or car repairs. Such programs have also been shown to increase job satisfaction, retention, and performance.
During the launch event hosted by BlackRock, UNSGSA Queen Máxima will speak about her global experience supporting financial health initiatives, the role of employers in helping their employees build financial health, and how the UK’s national coalition can be an example for other employers around the world looking to improve household financial health at scale through collaboration. Employers and employees will also share their experiences during the discussions, highlighting how workplace savings can reduce employee stress and increase financial resilience both for employees and companies overall.
While in London, Queen Máxima and the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) are also organizing a roundtable discussion with UK financial service providers, hosted by Nationwide. The topic of discussion is ‘Financial Health by Design: Leveraging Data for Growth & Resilience.’ She will also meet bilaterally with Economic Secretary of the Treasury, Rachel Blake, and Steve Field, Director General for the Europe in Global Affairs Group within the UK Cabinet Office to discuss elevating the UK’s financial health leadership on global platforms, including the G20.
This visit builds on Queen Máxima’s previous engagement with UK leaders on financial health efforts. In December 2024, she spoke at the Global Banking Summit in London in her capacity as UNSGSA and engaged with several financial institutions and employers about financial health.