Meet the author of the top undergraduate paper submitted to FCAC’s National Student Paper Competition 2025
Emily Hamann describes her proposal to help Canadians build their savings.
"I want to develop a savings tool that reduces the decision-making burden for Canadians living pay cheque to pay cheque."
Emily Hamann
Who I am:
Emily Hamann, undergraduate, Goodman School of Business, Brock University
The problem I want to solve:
I chose to focus on the Managing Savings consumer building block in the National Financial Literacy Strategy for my proposal. My goal is to reduce the time and energy that savings decisions involve so that it is easier for Canadians living on a low income to build their savings. There’s a lot involved with current savings programs like Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) and Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs). It’s not just a quick decision to set them up. For example, I had to physically go into the bank to start my own TFSA. This might be too complicated for some people, or they just don’t have time to think about their various savings options. The unpredictability of the job market also makes it very difficult to make decisions about savings, especially for people who do seasonal or freelance work. People worry, “what if there is an emergency, what if I need this money?” You don’t have quick access to your money with traditional savings programs, and there are penalties for taking money out. For example, with RRSPs, there is a tax hit, and you lose your contribution room. This uncertainty adds to the decision fatigue that discourages people from saving.
My why:
The only reason I started my own TFSA was because I am studying business administration. The professor of my finance class scared me into saving. He said, “you should really start saving now, even if you can only put in 50 bucks a year; 50 bucks a year growing to 53 bucks is better than just 50 bucks.” But many people don't have a financial education or this kind of nudging to help them make financial decisions. I wanted to build a solution that helps people who don’t have a business background with that initial decision-making effort, so they can experience how even a small amount of money can grow interest.
My approach:
I am completing a minor in Economics, which really shaped how I approached my proposal. In my classes, we looked at how policy decisions can influence behaviour and create disproportionate impacts on certain groups. I started by exploring broader resources to understand how Canada’s financial support mechanisms work, and then dug deeper into peer-reviewed papers which looked at the responses to similar savings mechanisms, keeping my focus on the impact on low-income Canadians. I was particularly interested in whether or not default savings enrollment, which removes the initial burden of choice, can encourage people to invest more in savings. I also looked at research about behavioural nudging, which uses subtle prompts to guide people to make better financial decisions.
My biggest challenge:
It was challenging to try and come up with a realistic solution to help Canadians on low incomes grow their savings. I wanted a proposal that was not far-fetched about how much people should contribute, and that didn’t say “you should put in this much money every month.” It was also challenging to develop a solution that governments and banks would want to implement, that is feasible for them and not too much work. To come up with a realistic solution, I looked at research and studies on existing programs like TFSAs and RRSPs, but also savings programs in other countries like New Zealand, so that I could recommend an approach that I could foresee happening.
My solution:
My proposal to reduce the decision burden around” savings is to create an automatic enrollment program that is embedded into existing transfers of money from the Government of Canada, such as the goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax (GST/HST) credit, Canada Workers Benefit, or income supports. I am proposing that a small portion of money from the benefit or credit—just 2-5%—be automatically diverted to a no-fee, interest-bearing savings account specifically set up for this program. This approach would reduce the choices and decisions involved in building savings. Participants would be given the opportunity to opt out, but as this involves an extra step, they would be more likely to leave the money in the account, so it has time to grow. Because my proposal is targeted at Canadians living on a low income, it’s important that the money diverted be small enough that it doesn’t affect their daily spending. Participants would also have full access to the account, so they can withdraw money quickly if they need it. Automatically diverting money while still making it easily accessible solves the burden of decision making that often acts as a barrier to saving.
Last thoughts:
My proposal is not just about reducing decision-making fatigue when it comes to making choices about savings. The idea is also to inspire people. Seeing their $2 grow to $10 may help people who lack financial knowledge visualize the power of savings. Seeing what can happen with their money may nudge them to start building savings that can help them pay off debt and help with emergencies. It may also inspire them to look into other savings options, such as TFSAs, where they can invest larger amounts of money.
Read the top undergraduate paper submitted to the 2025 National Student Paper Competition (PDF).