Saving is also for young people

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23.Aug.2022

What do young people think about saving? How capable and willing are they to plan their financial future? As revealed in the latest survey conducted by the BBVA Pensions Institute, more than half (54%) of millennials (those born between 1980-2000) managed to save during the months of lockdown, and around 40% continued to maintain this habit afterwards. This saving is coupled with the fact that almost half of Spanish millennials are not confident that they will get a public pension when they retire, according to the same study.

Retirement horizon

Although the proportion of those who have started saving for retirement is less than a fifth (17%), six out of ten (63%) of those who are not yet saving believe that it is advisable to do so, starting at around the age of 38. Of those who have started saving for retirement, 48% are doing this through individual pension plans, and two thirds of this group think it is bad to reduce the tax breaks on these savings products. The retirement horizon is still a long way off for millennials. Almost half of them (48%) have not thought about the age at which they would like to retire, but another half state that they would like to leave work as soon as possible or at least before the age of 65.

Low salaries

Circumstances do not make it particularly easy for young people to build up their piggy bank, especially because of their low salaries and precarious jobs. However, as a MAPFRE study discovered by tracking the opinions of young people on social networks, the so-called Generation Z (between 18 and 25 years old) and millennials (between 35 and 40 years old), are the most interested in retirement and pensions.

Moreover, these young people, convinced of the need to save, link their financial activities to companies and financial products that reflect their ideals, as they want to have a positive impact. This trend had already been detected in the Global Investment Survey 2018, developed by PwC, which revealed that 60% of them are looking to invest in products governed by socially responsible or ESG criteria.

New savings tools

As a result, many insurance companies -which also offer savings products- have launched new tools to help young people to save in an easy, socially responsible, innovative way, adapted to their way of life and with all the security guarantees they need to achieve their goals smoothly. In many cases, savings are 100% accessible, eliminating the fear that many of them had of traditional retirement plans that did not allow them to recover the money they had saved up until they reached a certain age.

The sector has realised that this group demands more information and training on different savings methods and investment options, which is a very positive factor in terms of their awareness of planning for the future.

You can learn more about the habits of millennials in relation to savings and insurance at this link.

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