Gen Z appears to have limited knowledge and interest in pensions
Professional Pensions intern Eve Holland answers questions on her knowledge and experience with pensions.
When you hear the word ‘pension' what are the first things that come into your mind?
Retirement, savings and something that is far in the future.
Does Gen Z spend much time thinking about pensions?
Personally, I very rarely consider my pension. Others my age all say very similar things - that they have very limited knowledge and interest in them. A rare case when I will discuss pensions in general would be during one of those long-term life conversations with the grandparents at Christmas.
Should they be thinking about pensions? What's an appropriate age to be considering them?
As a teenager without a consistent job, I don't believe that at 16 we need to majorly be considering pensions, due to our lack of income. However, I would advise that once we get a steady, well-paying job (or we turn 18) we should be educated and advised on pensions for our future.
Is personal finance, long-term savings and retirement something that is taught much at school? What was your experience?
After recently finishing secondary school, I remain without formal education about personal finance or savings. Apart from a brief guide to compound interest taught in my maths GCSE, I have been blissfully unaware of those elements of personal finance, such as pensions, that I presume will soon shape my life. Many schools offer business studies as a GCSE qualification but it covers business finance and is not a compulsory course. The brief knowledge that I do possess has been taught to me by my parents over the past few years and concerns topics such as debit cards, budgeting and saving for future endeavours.
The pensions industry struggles to engage people with their pension, particularly the young? How do you think we could communicate better to the Gen Z audience?
To engage and educate a younger audience, social media will be your best friend.
Unsurprisingly, through Gen Z growing up within the decade of technology reinvention, social media has unfortunately become the heart and soul of our lives. An amazing way to encourage us will be through realistic, funny, light-hearted hidden advertisements through our commonly used platforms. By combining trending themes with pension-related information, it is very likely that more awareness can be spread among the youth.
Ultimately, I speculate that the most effective way to communicate with the Gen Z audience is through relatable content, which demonstrates a clear personal profit and will often sit boldly in their eyeline.
