08 July 2004
Scaring consumers into long-term savings is the answer to Britain’s worrying pensions gap, a pension expert has warned.
Mike Morrison, Winterthur Life’s pensions strategy manager, says “scare tactics” would prevent the savings chasm from turning into a full-blown pensions crisis, the ifaOnline website reports.
Mr Morrison believes introducing education – both in the workplace and as part of the school curriculum – is the way forward in order to encourage people to save for the future.
But while advocating education, he admits this is unlikely to have an immediate effect on people’s savings behaviour. Instead, they should be “scared” into saving, he argues.
He cited the government’s HIV/AIDS campaign of some years ago – making people more aware of the risks they faced – as a precedent that could be followed.
A similar advertising campaign, highlighting the need to put away funds for retirement, could spur more people to save, he claims.