Our CEO and Founder, Hamzah Shalchi, seeks to answer this question and more in our latest blog entitled, Is ‘Pension’ a Dirty Word to Millennials? Read our founder’s blog and contact Headway Wealth for help with UK pension planning. We offer a tailored pension and retirement service that’s designed to help you save.
Hamzah Shalchi’s Pension Advice
When millennials hear the word ‘pension,’ the first thought that crosses their mind is, “Why would I want to give away part of my paycheck to a pension?” As someone who was born in 1985, I know very few, if any people my age, who actually invest in their current pension scheme. In fact, I remember being asked if I wanted to enrol in a pension scheme at my first job and turning my nose up to it thinking, “Why would I want to take home less?”
The sad reality is that millennials are facing a financial crisis. This generation has been especially struggling to afford rent, student loans and groceries, and can hardly fathom investing in a pension scheme with little to no money in the bank. According to the Telegraph, millennials will need to save an extra £80,400 just to retire at the same age as their grandparents. This means that millennials will need to save approximately £1,900 a year, or £160 per month, to retire by the time they’re 68.
Like most millennials, I was never educated about pensions, credit cards or savings at school. My parents were very much against pensions and credit cards, but could ever give me a real downside to them when I asked. All I knew was that credit card companies wanted to attract new customers and push their credit schemes as hard as possible – that was it! It wasn’t until I was offered a Barclaycard that my outlook changed and my savings began to grow.
I saw my Barclaycard as essentially “free money” and never batted an eyelid using or taking cash from it when I was short – I actually jumped at the chance! I quickly realised that credit cards, savings and pensions are actually beneficial, which lead me to wish that I opened these accounts sooner. Pensions are a fantastic way to offset your monthly income tax and they’ve been shown to make planning for retirement easier. It’s because of my personal revelation that I continue to encourage UK residents to enrol in their company’s pension scheme and start contributing to it as soon as possible.
Speak to an advisor to find out how easy opening and contributing to a pension is and book a meeting with us to go over your financial options today. Learn more about our experience and expertise and contact us for a quick quote.
