According to a recent UK survey by trade teaching company Samuel & Co. Trading, 43% of millennials are not saving enough, partly because they prefer to live in the moment, and partly a by-product of an ever-changing society.
Much has been written about millennials in the media, focussing on the problems this generation of 22-to-37-year-olds face. One of the most common reasons millennials are unwilling to join their company pension scheme or save for the future is they prefer to spend their money on funding their current lifestyle. They mostly spend their money on socialising, festivals, holidays and cars. They openly admit life is all about enjoying the moment because they do not want to look back at their lives and have no memories.
One 26-year old interviewed said ‘I might never see this pension because I might not make it to 68. Even if I do, at least I followed my dreams and lived for my passions’.
The fear of missing out on luxuries in life seems to prevail over the common sense of having a financially secure future. To millennials, time no longer equals money. It is a limited resource to be spent wisely and actively managed.
Millennials grew up in an age where individuality has become more prominent in the social and political sphere and many parents promoted this by giving them choices from when they were very young children. Many parents have consciously and unconsciously trained their children to expect a lot out of life.
Another reason millennials are more resistant to saving is because of the nature of work for their generation, with many holding several jobs over their lifetime. Job roles have changed. Many young people are chief executives of their own companies while still in their 20s. While start-up culture is becoming more commonplace, it is also insecure and fuels the ‘you can do anything’ myth over the ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ mantra that previous generations held.
Advisers are attempting to understand millennial attitudes to money and the issues they face so they can properly engage this generation.