Aviva expands mortgage support for workplace pension customers

Aviva is expanding access to its specialist mortgage guidance through its workplace pension proposition. The move comes as employers are increasingly being called upon to support employees with immediate financial challenges alongside long-term retirement planning.

The insurer has announced that more workplace pension customers will now have access to mortgage support from digital mortgage platform Tembo following a successful pilot. The service is designed to help employees understand their borrowing options and navigate affordability challenges as home ownership becomes an increasingly important component of financial wellbeing.

The move reflects a growing shift in workplace financial wellbeing strategies, with employers looking beyond pensions and savings to address broader financial pressures affecting employees throughout their working lives.

Tembo provides access to around 110 mortgage lenders and helps prospective buyers explore specialist mortgage products, family-assisted mortgages and other affordability solutions that could increase borrowing potential or make it easier to enter the housing market.

The expansion comes as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is consulting on proposals aimed at improving access to mortgages, particularly for first-time buyers, highlighting the wider challenges many employees face when trying to purchase a home.

Simon Ellis, director of workplace pensions at Aviva, said: “We know that owning a home is at the heart of many people’s financial goals. By giving our workplace pension customers access to Tembo, we’re aiming to help people escape the rental trap and become home owners – a key component of broader long-term financial wellbeing.”

He added that the service also enables employers to offer more practical financial support while supporting Aviva’s wider ambition of helping people achieve better retirement outcomes.

Tembo was developed through Aviva’s partnership with Founders Factory and has become an established part of the insurer’s workplace financial wellbeing offering. The mortgage platform has been recognised as the UK’s Best Mortgage Broker at the British Bank Awards for five consecutive years between 2022 and 2026.

Richard Dana, chief executive of Tembo, said affordability pressures mean access to specialist mortgage guidance has never been more important and that the partnership enables employers to provide practical support while helping employees achieve their home ownership ambitions.

As financial wellbeing programmes continue to evolve, the announcement reflects a broader trend towards supporting employees with financial decisions across every stage of life, from buying a first home through to preparing for retirement, rather than focusing solely on pension saving.