Our Research
Commonwealth conducts original qualitative and quantitative research with financially vulnerable people—including Black, Latinx, and women-led households who disproportionately experience financial insecurity. We also interview industry experts and academics. We take what we learn and translate findings into actionable insights and practical solutions designed to change systems to work better for financially vulnerable people. We work with community groups, employers, financial services firms, fintechs, policymakers, and workplace solution providers to design and test real-world, practical solutions that not only work for individuals and families, but are also scalable and address the business needs of our partners.
We share the results of our work to provide you with innovative ideas, practical insights, and the tools you need to act. Explore our publications below.
Testing U.S. Savings Bonds to Help Low-income Tax Filers Begin Saving
During the 2007 tax season, D2D and four Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites conducted a U.S. Savings Bond pilot test. From January 22nd to March 31st 2007, D2D and its partners offered Series I U.S. Savings Bonds to 4,841…
Build Savings at Tax Time: A Guide to Split Refunds
More than three-quarters of the nation’s taxpayers receive tax refunds each year. Fr many low to moderate income households, this is the largest sum of cash they will receive all year. To encourage individuals and families to make the best…
Reinventing Savings Bonds
Savings bonds have always served multiple objectives: funding the U.S. government, democratizing national financing, and enabling families to save. Increasingly, the authors write, that last goal has been ignored. A series of efficiency measures introduced in 2003 make these bonds…
Leveraging Tax Refunds to Encourage Saving
Policy-makers from both sides of the political aisle are actively seeking ways to encourage retirement saving among middle- and low-income households. A growing body of evidence suggests that making it easy for these families to save, and presenting them with…
Tax-Refund Splitting as an Asset-Building Tool
The trend towards promoting asset accumulation among the poor has been gaining steam in recent years due to the emphasis on asset-building as a means to lift the poor out of poverty. This trend is a result of greater focus…