Generation WHY? survey 2017

Now in its third year, our ‘Generation WHY? survey highlights important generational attitudes and perspectives towards money matters as well as savings and how personal affluence affects outlook.

This year, we continued to target different age and affluence groups; 18-29, 30-49 and 50+, each within various earnings brackets; below £20,000, between £20,000 to £39,999, between £40,000 and £74,999 and above £75,000.

With just over 1500 responses, the results reveal that there could be potential difficulties in the retirement journey for the UK. Education remains crucial in guiding individuals through each step of the process; whether this is through marketing messages from the government, highlighting the importance of individuals staying in once auto-enrolled, or providing the right support at decision-making stages in later life, including information how to access pension savings and when to retire.

Key findings:

• 65% of Brits admit to losing sleep over their finances
• 36% reveal their main financial priority is to save for a house
• On average, 58% of those aged 50+ across all salary brackets have not considered their long-term care
• The Lifetime ISA (LISA) comes into effect in April 2017 and only 40% of people are aware of what this offers
• 45% said they might contribute more to their pension if they knew their peers were paying more
• 40% of people do not receive any help from their employer regarding their financial concerns or goals
• 79% of Brits want financial education included in the workplace
• 65% would contribute more to their pension if they could afford to

Important financial priorities remain consistent in each of our age groups and affluence plays a key role in decision-making. Buying a house remaining of the highest priority all and it’s only once this is in place that other priorities come into play, whether this is clearing debt, raising a family or long term savings. Debt still looms, affecting social mobility and prospects; saving money whilst debt remains high is not only a hard sell and can often be viewed as fruitless when comparing pay-out versus return.

A changing workforce

Overall, it’s clear to see that a changing workforce is happening now. Diversity, with four generations working together, will become more familiar with an ageing population. Organisations will need to adapt to keep up and phased retirements will become increasingly popular for employees who choose to stay in work, either as a lifestyle choice or for financial reasons. HR policy will progress to include these variables and hopefully businesses will flourish with the rich infusion.

Please complete the form below to download the full Generation Why? 2017 Research.