Phoenix Group Announces Winner of Women’s Innovation Forum: Hazel Platform

FinTech Scotland’s Strategic Partner, Phoenix Group, the UK’s largest long-term savings and retirement business, just announced the winner of its Women’s Innovation Forum: the innovative platform Hazel. This announcement follows a comprehensive challenge launched in August 2023, in collaboration with FinTech Scotland, inviting organisations to pitch transformational solutions aimed at engaging women in their financial futures and helping them make more informed decisions.

Addressing the Gender Pension Gap

Phoenix Insights, the think tank of Phoenix Group, has highlighted a concerning trend: women are significantly lagging behind in their pension savings due to various life events such as caring responsibilities and divorce. By their 40s, women typically save 34% less for retirement than men, and this gap widens to 51% by their 50s, despite women generally living longer. The research highlights an urgent need for innovative solutions to bridge this gap and ensure women have sufficient income for a comfortable retirement.

The Winning Solution: Hazel

The Hazel platform, an innovative tool providing guidance and support on using housing wealth to enhance retirement income, has emerged as the winning solution. Hazel helps individuals, particularly women, understand how to utilise the equity in their property as part of a holistic retirement financial planning process. This approach can free up significant capital in retirement, contributing to a more secure and comfortable future.

How Hazel Works

Hazel’s platform offers balanced and personalised guidance to adults over 50, including retirees, on leveraging property assets. Users are guided through considerations related to downsizing, relocating to a more affordable area, or releasing equity through later life lending products such as lifetime mortgages. The platform provides a holistic personal assessment, considering lifestyle and property choices, and offers insights on finding and funding appropriate housing options and financial solutions.

Women, who are more likely to own their homes in retirement and live longer with lower pension wealth, stand to benefit significantly from Hazel’s guidance. By helping women make informed decisions about their housing wealth, Hazel aims to improve financial confidence, close the income gap, and enhance quality of life in retirement.

Moving Forward with Hazel

Phoenix Group and Hazel will now explore integrating a pilot of the platform into Phoenix’s existing services. Claire Hawkins, Executive Sponsor of the Women’s Innovation Forum and Phoenix Group’s Director of Corporate Affairs and Investor Relations, expressed her enthusiasm for the initiative:

“Hazel’s solution will help more women understand how they can use their property assets to top up their pensions and close the income gap in retirement. This practical and scalable solution offers all homeowners greater choice and control over funding their retirement. We see tremendous potential in this project to engage women in their financial futures and help them make better, more informed decisions.”

A Commitment to Empowering Women

The collaboration with Hazel is part of Phoenix Group’s broader commitment to addressing the gender pension gap and supporting women’s financial empowerment. By providing innovative, research-based solutions like Hazel, Phoenix aims to ensure that women are better prepared for retirement and can enjoy a higher quality of life.

Mark Whitcroft, Co-Founder of Hazel, highlighted the importance of this partnership:

“Grounded in extensive research with the UK’s National Innovation Centre for Ageing (NICA), Hazel was developed to address the significant challenges older adults face in making crucial life and housing decisions. Our collaboration with Phoenix Group broadens the spectrum of guidance available to their clients, empowering individuals to make confident and informed choices about their later years.”