Firm welcomes young savers study after retirement warning

A pensions firm which has recently warned about that retirees face a major financial shortfall has welcomed research finding a healthy attitude among 18-24 year olds towards savings. Friends Life found that young adults were most likely to prioritise getting in control of their money when it came to setting financial goals for 2015 – with auto-enrolment cited as a possible reason for this attitude.Almost a third of all 18-24-year-olds surveyed by the firm planned to curb the amount of money they spend on leisure activities, compared to a UK average of 18%.Some 35% of this group said they wanted to increase their savings with top aims being to buy a car (17%) or house (20%).Andy Curran, UK chief executive at Friends Life, said the findings illustrated that younger people are maximising their potential to save, which the company believes could be attributed to the positive impact of auto-enrolment.{desktop}{/desktop}{mobile}{/mobile}He said research from Friends Life earlier this year showed how important it is to actively contribute to retirement savings from a young age.An analysis of ONS data found workers on average face a salary drop of £400 per year once they turn 50. Some 35% of those over 55 were prioritising spending their money on a holiday next year.Mr Curran said: "As our thoughts turn to 2015, it is really interesting to understand what people's financial priorities are."The positive news is that many feel confident about their financial situation and are already taking steps to ensure they plan ahead and save for both the short and long term."This is particularly evident among those aged under 25 who are just entering the workplace and appear to have a healthy approach to saving. This is a crucial shift in savings behaviour as our recent Retirement Savings Map found currently many people face a £96.67 per week financial shortfall in retirement. "This demonstrates why it is so important for people to take control of their finances sooner rather than later."When it comes to what people want to do with their money in the short term, 44% of the population said it was about staying in control of daily spending and they cited sticking to a monthly budget as being most important.A third (29%) said their top priority was to take a holiday while one in five (18%) said they wanted to pay off credit card debt. Overall, people were positive about their ability to achieve their financial goals in 2015, with two in five (38%) confident they will achieve their long and short term priorities, and 47% saying they will be in a comfortable financial position.

Firm welcomes young savers study after retirement warning

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