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.
Increasing Access to Postsecondary Education Savings
Postsecondary education (PSE) is an important predictor of a person’s future economic and personal wellbeing, and a key component for families trying to build better opportunities for themselves. Tools designed to help families save for PSE, such as 529 tax-advantaged…
Emergency Savings & Retirement
Workers earning low to moderate incomes (LMI) regularly experience financial insecurity. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated vulnerabilities, and recovery from the economic disruption has been challenging, uneven, and unpredictable. We are seeing over time the crucial role of emergency savings in…
How ADP’s Solution Facilitated $1.5 Billion in Emergency Savings
Payroll service providers are well-positioned to help companies of all sizes provide quality emergency savings products to their employees. Providing an emergency savings option through the workplace is key to improving financial security and building wealth for workers living on…
How Truist Used Prize-Based Incentives to Generate $37 Million in Savings
Banks and other financial services providers are well-positioned to provide the emergency savings tools that are key to improving financial security and building wealth for Americans living on low and moderate incomes (LMI). Emergency savings reduces the financial impact of…
Designing Automated Finance for Customers Living on Low to Moderate Incomes
The use of software to automate business and financial processes is one the most significant transformations of the information age. While much of the development in this area has focused on making organizations more efficient by streamlining internal processes, the…
A Wealth Building Blueprint
After an additional year of research, our Wealth Building Blueprint is updated to reflect the progress we’ve made and future paths for our wealth building work.
How Retail Investing Platforms Can Create a More Inclusive Investing Environment
Commonwealth’s pilot with Public.com provides research and recommendations for investing platforms looking to create a more inclusive investing environment.
Evaluating the Impact of Income Volatility Benefits on Gig Workers
The Financial Benefits Project explores the financial needs of gig workers and outlines recommendations for employer benefits that reduce the impact of income volatility.
Emergency Savings Features That Work for Employees Earning Low to Moderate Incomes
Research from Commonwealth and DCIIA RRC identifies how emergency savings solutions can be best designed and offered to workers earning low to moderate incomes.
Emergency Savings & Retirement
Emergency savings is crucial to building financial security. Unfortunately, millions of people lack access to these proven tools from employers, financial institutions, and other actors. Providing an emergency savings account product through the workplace is key to raising financial security…