Phoenix Group (“Phoenix”), the UK’s largest long term savings and retirement business, is today announcing it is establishing Phoenix Insights, a new centre of research and ideas that will drive forward greater public engagement and challenge society to help everyone live better longer lives.

Phoenix recognises that to realise the potential of longer lives, there is a real need to start thinking and acting differently, to challenge the out of date assumptions that many of the structures of today’s society are built on. With a clear focus on realising that potential, Phoenix Insights will be considering areas such as longer working lives, financial security, lifelong learning and skills, healthy active lives, care and support, and how our homes can support longer lives.

Catherine Foot, a research and policy expert in ageing and longevity, has been appointed to lead Phoenix Insights. She will be supported by an advisory committee, chaired by Phoenix Group CEO Andy Briggs and comprising Lord Victor Adebowale, Baroness Camilla Cavendish, Professor Lynda Gratton, Professor Sarah Harper CBE, Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith CBE, Amber Rudd and Claire Hawkins.

Phoenix Insights will be a cornerstone in Phoenix Group’s commitment to delivering on its purpose, to help people secure a life of possibilities. The research centre will use high impact research to drive forward ideas and greater public engagement with the implications of living longer lives, seeking to both inform, debate and to catalyse new action across society, not just from government or industry or civil society, but from everyone.

Commenting, Group CEO, Andy Briggs said:

“We are delighted to be establishing Phoenix Insights, and to welcome Catherine Foot as its Director. We see improved longevity as a huge opportunity for many more people to have a long life that is full of possibilities, but we also recognise an ageing population poses some profound challenges for our society.If we don’t all work together to consider these challenges and adapt, the gulf between the advantaged and the disadvantaged will only continue to grow. Through Phoenix Insights, we hope to help lead the debate and drive forward the thinking and necessary changes that will enable us all to take action and to live better longer lives.”

The findings and recommendations of Phoenix Insights will also inform the action Phoenix Group will be taking to help people live better longer lives, whether that be in how Phoenix supports its 14 million customers in their journey to and through retirement, how it supports its 7,000 colleagues, or how it invests its circa £300 billion of assets under administration for a more sustainable future that supports longer lives. Phoenix Insights expects to start sharing insights and recommendations in the next six months.

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that the number of older people in the population has continued to increase; in mid-2020 there were 12.5 million people aged 65 years and over in the UK, compared with 10.3 million a decade earlier. The figures also show that 0.9% of the UK population is aged 90 or over, compared to 0.7% a decade ago.

Director of Phoenix Insights, Catherine Foot added:

“Life expectancy in the UK has risen dramatically over the past century, but we are not yet structuring our society and our lives to make the most of that incredible achievement. I am thrilled to have the opportunity, through Phoenix Insights, to inspire people across the UK to reimagine how we work, save, learn and live, so that we can truly make the most of longer lives.”

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Media Enquiries

Shellie Wells
Head of Corporate Communications
Phoenix Group
07872 414 137 / 0203 735 0922
Shellie.wells@thephoenixgroup.com

Daniel White
Public Relations Manager
Phoenix Group
07971 952 921 / 0203 735 0395
daniel.white@thephoenixgroup.com

Ellie Farrell
Teneo
07912 553 313
ellie.farrell@teneo.com

About Catherine Foot, Director of Phoenix Insights

Catherine Foot is a research and policy specialist in ageing and longevity, and from 2015 to 2021 was Director of Evidence at the Centre for Ageing Better, a charitable foundation funded by The National Lottery Community Fund, and part of the government’s What Works Network. Catherine has also held senior roles at the health and social care think tank The King’s Fund, and the medical research charity Cancer Research UK. She has two young children and wants her children’s generation to grow up and grow old in a society that truly supports them to live secure and fulfilling lives for the 100 years that many of them could well live.

About the Phoenix Insights Advisory Committee

• Lord Victor Adebowale is a non-Executive Director of the Co-Operative Group, Collaborate CIC, Nuffield Health, Visionable and Leadership in Mind. He is also Chair of Social Enterprise UK and the NHS Confederation. After 19 years Victor has recently stepped down as the CEO of Turning Point, a social enterprise providing health and social care interventions to approximately 100,000 people on an annual basis. Victor also served for 6 years as a Non-Executive Director on the board of NHS England. He has chaired a number of commission reports into: policing; employment; mental health; housing and fairness for The London Fairness Commission; the Metropolitan Police; and for central and local government. He was awarded a CBE for services to the unemployed and homeless people, and became a crossbench peer in 2001.
• Baroness Camilla Cavendish is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster, and the author of “Extra Time: Ten Lessons for an Ageing World”, published by Harper Collins in 2019. She is a Senior Fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School and a Contributing Editor at the Financial Times where she writes a weekly OpEd column on Saturdays. She was Head of the Prime Minister’s UK Policy Unit under David Cameron. In 2020 Camilla became a temporary adviser to the Secretary of State for Health during the Covid-19 pandemic and delivered an internal review on social care reform in October 2020. She sits in the House of Lords as a non-aligned peer: Baroness Cavendish of Little Venice.
• Professor Lynda Gratton is a Professor of Management Practice at the London Business School and founder of the advisory practice HSM. She is an award-winning author on the future of work and the role of corporation. Her ten books have sold over a million copies and have been translated into more than 20 languages. Her latest book, co-authored with Andrew J. Scott, is ‘The New Long Life – a framework for flourishing in a changing world”. Global recognition of her work includes the Indian Tata prize, the Australian AHRI prize, and the US Fellow of NAHR, she has also received the LBS Best Teacher Award. Lynda served on former Prime Minister Abe’s “Council for Designing 100-Year Life Society”, is a member of the Council of the World Economic Forum, has chaired the WEF Council on Leadership and is currently co-chair of the WEF Global Future Council on Work, Wages and Job Creation, as well as a member of the international advisory board of Equinor.
• Professor Sarah Harper CBE is Clore Professor of Gerontology at the University of Oxford and the Director of the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing. She has a background in Anthropology and Population Studies holding a MA from Cambridge University and a DPhil from the University of Oxford. Her research focuses on societal change arising from population ageing, with a specific interest in healthy life expectancy, the family and intergenerational relationships. Sarah was appointed a CBE for services to Demography in 2018. Sarah served on the UK Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology, which advises the Prime Minister on the scientific evidence for strategic policies, and chaired the Government Review into the Future of the UK's Ageing Population. She is Editor of the Journal of Population Ageing, Springer Nature.
• Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith CBE is the Chair of Mind Gym PLC and the President of the British Chambers of Commerce. She also chairs the Air Operators Association, is a Non-Executive Director at the Department of Education and the Tideway Tunnel. Ruby was the Chief Executive of MITIE Group PLC, the strategic outsourcing company which employed over 65000 people during her tenure and became the largest Facilities Management business in the UK. Ruby is a member of the House of Lords, having been granted a Life Peerage in 2015 and is a member of the Risk Assessment and Risk Planning Committee. She is responsible for the Independent Report to the UK Government on Race in the Workplace published in February 2017.
• Amber Rudd held three cabinet roles over four years and under three Prime Ministers, first in Energy & Climate Change, then the Home Office as Home Secretary and until September 2019 in Work and Pensions. Amber was appointed Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change in 2015 and led the UK team to the successful completion of the Paris Climate Change Agreement. From July 2016 to April 2018, Amber served as Home Secretary. During 2017, Amber responded to the succession of terrorist attacks, calling for an international response to take radicalising material off the internet. From November 2018 to September 2019, Amber served as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. She has also served as Minister for Women and Equalities. Since leaving Government at the end of 2019 Amber has taken up roles in cyber security, in the energy transition sector and around women’s empowerment.
• Andy Briggs was appointed Group Chief Executive Officer of Phoenix Group on 10 March 2020. Andy has over 30 years of insurance industry leadership experience and is a qualified actuary. He was Group Chief Executive of Friends Life, the listed insurer, Managing Director of Scottish Widows, Chief Executive of the Retirement Income division at Prudential and Chairman of the ABI. Most recently he was CEO UK Insurance of Aviva plc until April 2019. He is a Board member of the Association of British Insurers, a Trustee of the NSPCC and Chair of their Income Generation Committee and also serves as the UK Government’s Business Champion for Older Workers and for the Ageing Society Grand Challenge. Andy was awarded an MBE in the 2021 New Year Honours for his personal 'extraordinary dedication' to external fundraising work for over a decade, for the NSPCC.
• Claire Hawkins is Director of Corporate Affairs and Investor Relations at Phoenix Group. A qualified accountant, Claire joined Phoenix Group in 2000 and has held a number of senior positions, including Director of the Group's SII Delivery Programme. She has worked on a part time basis for the majority of her time with the Group, working flexibly from home or the office. Phoenix Group’s sustainability, social affairs and brand strategy are some of the key areas within her remit and Claire has been integral to driving forward the establishment of Phoenix Insights.Claire sits on Phoenix Group’s Executive Committee and is the executive sponsor of Phoenix’s employee led Carer’s Network, one of eight employee networks established by Phoenix to support its colleagues and gain insight into the individual challenges many face.

About Phoenix Group

Phoenix is the UK’s largest long-term savings and retirement business, with £338 billion of assets under administration and c.14 million customers.

We are a growing and sustainable business with a clear purpose – helping people secure a life of possibilities. This means taking responsible and sustainable investment decisions, and using our presence and voice to advocate on behalf of the UK’s savers. We understand that our scale and expertise means that we have an important role to play for our customers, colleagues and our communities.

As life expectancy continues to increase and the pension landscape continues to shift, we will continue to be a safe and dependable ally in the journey to and through retirement for millions of customers, by providing the right guidance and products, at the right time, to support the right choices. We offer a broad range of products for people across all stages of the savings life cycle.

Our strategy focuses on delivering long term, sustainable value and, to fulfil our purpose, focuses on five key areas to ensure we respond to changing customer needs, manage our capital position well, create value, inspire our people, and put sustainability at the heart of our business.

Phoenix is a FTSE 100 company and we feature in the FTSE100 ESG Select Index. In 2020 we committed to our operations being net zero carbon by 2025 and our investment portfolios by 2050. We are playing an active role in helping to build back better and greener as we invest for the future. We are a Living Wage Employer and recognised as a Carer Positive Exemplary for offering the best support to colleagues who are carers.