Your Homework:Pension Planning

Planning for your retirement should be part of the National Curriculum, according to Nigel Green. As he’s CEO of the world’s largest financial advisory firm, the deVere Group, you may think he’s just trying to drum up business, but the statistics are a little more compelling.

It’s now estimated that almost half of today’s 25-year-olds will be dependent on friends, family and charity in their retirement.

“The earlier people start to make informed decisions, the easier it will be for them to enjoy the lifestyle that they deserve when they retire,” says Green. “Planning for your future financial security is a fundamental life skill that is consistently overlooked. At a time when Britain is in the midst of an unprecedented and growing pensions crisis, it is of paramount importance that we teach young people how to be financially independent in retirement.

“Financial, economic and political analysts all agree that in the future, the State will not have the funds to be able to provide for its citizens as it has done for previous generations. As a result, it is our duty to educate youngsters how to do it for themselves,” he adds.

As the world of work trends more and more toward short-term contracts and freelance jobs – and company pensions, whether state or private, become more and more restrictive – the burden of planning for retirement is now an imperative for individuals. For the young, the answer is that the sooner they take on board that they need to start planning, the better. After all, don’t you wish you’d started planning for your retirement sooner?