It’s no surprise that our concerns and priorities change as we get older.
A new report from leading Financial Wellbeing Provider, Neyber, shows that younger employees are most concerned about their mental health. As they start to get older, and build their families, we see work-life balance become more important to them. As we mature, we start to turn our attention to later life and retirement. For workers over 65, physical health becomes more significant.
This evolution isn’t surprising, but there is one constant, money is a continual problem. Only those over the age of 65 did not list financial worries as one of their top three concerns and even in this age group, 15% were still worried about money.
Concerns might be due to a lack of financial confidence, and more can be done to build capabilities across age groups.
In focus: young adults
In October and November 2017, the Money Advice Service and BritainThinks explored how confident young adults were when it comes to managing their money. Their research revealed some interesting results.
“ Money is seen as a measure of success. To say to somebody ‘I’m having trouble with money’ is to admit – not just to them but to yourself – that you’re unsuccessful”. School leaver, male, Manchester.
All of these things are encouraging – they show that young adults are already aware of the need to budget and manage their money. The great thing about this generation is they are tech-savy. New apps and services are enabling money alerts, on-the-go tracking, allowing them to recognise and change their money habits.
– 61% agreed that their life would improve if they could manage their money better
– 52% had spoken to a friend or family member about money management
– 44% had made a budget to manage their money better
– 30% had used an app to help with money management
– 18% had borrowed money from a friend or family to pay for necessities (e.g. bills)
– 13% had set up an alert on their bank account to warn when funds get low
Neyber’s full report – the DNA of financial wellbeing – can be found here.
Rebecca joined the HRreview editorial team in January 2016. After graduating from the University of Sheffield Hallam in 2013 with a BA in English Literature, Rebecca has spent five years working in print and online journalism in Manchester and London. In the past she has been part of the editorial teams at Sleeper and Dezeen and has founded her own arts collective.
