About

We are an independent charitable foundation. Our mission is to contribute towards strategic change which improves financial well-being in the UK. We want everyone to have a decent standard of living and have more control over their finances.

We fund research, campaigning and policy work to improve the living standards and personal finances of people struggling to make ends meet.

We believe in collaboration, working with our partners to make the UK a more financially fair place for people on low-to-middle incomes.

We believe everyone should be able to meet current and future financial commitments and needs comfortably. In our society everyone should have enough income for more than life’s essentials, be able to deal with financial shocks and not struggle to make ends meet. We want everyone to feel in control and confident about managing their finances. We believe these changes can help create a more financially fair society.

We have seen a shift from state to individual responsibility when it comes to people’s finances and social protection. Making financial decisions is often complex and confusing. Over the last decade living standards have been squeezed and public services have been cut. Many people on low-to-middle incomes face financial difficulties and struggle to cope and this has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

We are governed by a board of trustees who are responsible for the work we do and how we do it, including setting and overseeing the delivery of our strategy and objectives.

Whilst abrdn plc is our sole member, it respects our right to create our own strategy and to speak out about the social issues we are seeking to address.

We were established in 2009 and became Standard Life Foundation in 2017 upon receiving a substantial donation from the unclaimed assets following Standard Life’s demutualisation. At this time, our constitution, governance structure and name were all revised to align with this change.

Standard Life plc merged in 2017 to become Standard Life Aberdeen, and in 2021 became abrdn plc. We took this opportunity to choose a new, more descriptive, name for the organisation. From December 2021 we became abrdn Financial Fairness Trust.

Our new, mission-led name, also recognises the help and support provided by the company, from which we receive in-kind donations of office space and professional support.

Our trustees are independent and have a broad range of skills, experiences and backgrounds. One of our ten trustees is appointed by, and is an employee of, abrdn.

We have a team of staff who are based in our Edinburgh and London offices.

You can find out more about us here.