Financial planners assemble for industry discussion about the young and money
A capacity audience gathered in London at the CISI sponsored Young Money panel debate on 6 April
The panel discussed the important yet often uneasy relationship between Generation A’s aspirations and their inability to achieve these – an unfortunate symptom of the financial crisis.
The panel comprised Rohan Sivajoti CFPTM of eVestor; Darren Philp of The People’s Pension; Julia Rampen of the Daily Mirror, Sophie Robson of MRM and myself, reports Jason Butler CFPTM, Chartered FCSI. Lydia Romero of the CISI and Rebecca Taylor CFPTM Chartered FCSI co-chaired the proceedings.
However, despite recognising the difficulties young people face in both getting on the housing ladder and finding spare income to put towards retirement, the panel were optimistic about this generation’s likelihood of succeeding financially.
There are clearly ways that the government and industry can support young people in attaining their financial goals. It was generally agreed that the new Lifetime ISA announced in the Chancellor’s budget in March, is a positive step forward for young people, providing they continue to save via a workplace pension too. Equally, when talking about engaging with younger people, some of the panellists felt that the technology could be improved and made more enticing. It was suggested that for a digitally savvy younger generation, gamification and real-time notifications could make all the difference to engagement levels.
Opinion was divided over financial education. While there was a consensus that there was a real need to provide better financial education for younger people, the panellists also believed that young people needed to step up to the mark and equip themselves as well. After all, in the technological age we live in, there is no shortage of information available – the key differentiator is the willingness to look for it.
Sophie Robson, consultant at MRM and author of the Young Money report said: “This event was a stark reminder of the pressures young people face in today’s unforgiving economic climate.
“Unsurprisingly, difficulty getting on the housing ladder and lack of disposable income were common refrains throughout. However, it seems there is plenty to be cheerful about. The new Lifetime ISA, combined with auto-enrolment, should help more from Generation A navigate their way to a secure financial future.
“Equally, taking simple yet effective steps such as changing the mindset and making the relationship with money more positive, as well as a willingness to self-educate to a certain extent, should also help younger people come closer to achieving their financial goals. However, the question does remain as to whether the government is doing too much or too little to help young people – while they have introduced measures like LISA to make saving more flexible, many have also lost confidence in the pensions system because of persistent government meddling.
“The extent to which the government deals with more entrenched problems such as stubbornly low wages and high living costs, particularly in the housing market, will be crucial to helping young people move confidently through each financial rite of passage.”
Lydia Romero, Global director of Learning said: “Helping young people to get a better grip on their finances is essential and we are keen to do whatever we can to help achieve this goal. We were delighted to support this event and thank all our panellists and contributors for making it such a success.”