A new survey has highlighted what are considered to be the steepest challenges for young Britons when it comes to managing their finances, with pensions, savings, and writing a Will among the foremost issues.
The list of what are assumed to be top priorities for young people aiming to take control of their finances as fully-fledged ‘grown ups’ is headed by the process of taking on a mortgage, followed by not relying on parental advice and paying into a pension.
The research behind these insights was carried out on behalf of the Skipton Building Society and it seems that the sense among the British public in general is that young consumers are finding it increasingly difficult to progress in terms of their personal finances because of the seriousness of the economic headwinds they are faced with at present.
“The inability to complete rites of passage as basic as standing on their own feet financially, and owning their own home, is effectively infantalising people and leaving us with a generation of who remain teenagers into their late 20s,” reckoned Tracy Fletcher, head of corporate communications for the Skipton Building Society.
However, there were some positives to be taken from the society’s research because young Britons seem at least to be well aware of what their priorities ought to be from a personal finance perspective, even if they are struggling to make real progress towards these goals.
“People recognise that things like completing a Will and saving are vital stepping stones to a more prosperous and independent future,” said Ms Fletcher.
Paying into a pension is widely regarded as an important process to initiate if you haven’t already, as Skipton’s study served to underline once more. But it also emerged that a large proportion of UK consumers consider learning about Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) to be an important part of developing any sort of savvy when it comes to personal finance.
Apparently, around 60 percent of Britons also feel that a person cannot claim to be financially mature unless they have stopped taking loans or no-strings handouts from their parents.
A report published recently by the insurance group Aviva meanwhile suggested that economic conditions in the UK encouraged British households to reduce their debts while increasing their savings on average during the early months of the year.
