Money and Pensions Service

The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), established in 2019 as a UK government-sponsored arm's-length body through the merger of the Money Advice Service, Pensions Advisory Service, and Pension Wise, leads the national strategy for financial wellbeing. Its statutory mission is to enhance people's financial capabilities across life stages, tackling debt, financial exclusion, poor money management, and low pension engagement, with core values of impartiality, inclusivity, accessibility, collaboration, and evidence-based practice. Operating under the MoneyHelper brand and funded by a financial services levy, MaPS provides free guidance while commissioning partners to deliver scalable support, prioritizing vulnerable groups like low-income individuals, the indebted, those nearing retirement, and communities hit by life events.

MaPS funds targeted initiatives to modernize free debt advice in England, improve financial literacy, promote savings and pensions guidance (including pensions freedoms), and drive systemic change via research, pilots, and sector development. Key beneficiaries are people in problem debt from unemployment, illness, or disadvantage, with activities spanning face-to-face/telephone advice, digital tools, community programmes, and innovations for youth or mental health-linked debt. It supports the UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing's goals, like reducing problem debt and embedding financial education.

Eligible applicants are UK-registered charities (FCA-authorised for debt advice) with turnover up to £1,499,999, delivering free services in England; no geographic base restriction but UK-wide strategic impact. Typical grants are £10,000–£25,000 via the open Debt Advice Modernisation Fund (next deadline: 14 November 2025, noon), applied for online through the Find a Grant portal with one submission per round and supporting documents. No unsolicited applications outside active calls; no core/unrestricted funding or generalist activities. Distinctively, MaPS commissions large-scale block grants to established partners like StepChange and Citizens Advice, emphasizing evidence-led, collaborative impact over small open grants, as the UK's central architect of public financial guidance.