'Long-term' Saving?... Most of us don't look beyond a decade

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-         One in six say a holiday is the thing they have saved longest for

-          Nearly 5 million adults have never saved for anything at all

Long-term saving is an alien concept to two thirds (65%) of UK adults, according to research from IFA Promotion, the organisation promoting the benefits of independent financial advice. And it’s not just the younger generation who live for today; a worrying three quarters (74%) of 30-50 year olds and nearly half of over 50s (43%) have never saved for anything for longer than a decade.    

4.6 million UK adults (10%) admit they have never saved for anything at all, and this rises to a larger proportion (17%) of under 30s who have grown up with today’s credit culture. Saving seems to have fallen out of fashion in favour of instant consumer gratification.   

David Elms of IFA Promotion commented, “We cannot afford to take a short-term view on long-term saving. Planning ahead is the only way to ensure a secure financial future, but as a nation we seem unwilling to make the connection between our situation in later life with the here and now.”

The research also revealed:

• When asked to think about what they have saved longest for in their lives 17% of UK adults revealed it was simply a holiday.
• Less than a third (31%) of people said they had saved longest for retirement and, rather alarmingly, this fell to just a quarter (25%) of women.
• Nearly one in ten men (9%) said a car was the one thing they had spent the most amount of time counting their pennies for whilst over one in ten women had been willing to save longest for home improvements.

Amongst 30-50 year olds, the age group that should really be thinking about their financial future, almost as many people had saved longest for a holiday (20%) as retirement (23%) showing a complete lack of foresight.

Elms concluded, “Long term saving just doesn’t seem to be registering as a priority in the British psyche, but it’s never been more critical. If you need someone to help you think seriously about financial planning - not just for next year but the rest of your life - sitting down with an independent financial adviser is a great place to start.”

IFA Promotion has produced a free guide to budgeting and saving, Join the Savings Revolution, available by calling 0800 085 3250.  People can also access the guide and an interactive budgeting tool at www.unbiased.co.uk/getsaving

-ends-

* IFA Promotion’s survey was conducted by YouGov - June 2005. 2228 UK adults were surveyed.

For further information please contact:

David Elms                                               Liz Willder/Chloe Merriman

Chief Executive                                        Lansons Communications

IFA Promotion                                          020 7294 3677 / 020 7294 3681

020 7833 3131

    For expert comment or case studies from over 200 media-friendly IFAs, journalists should call IFA Promotion’s Media Services hotline on 020 7294 3682 or search online in ‘Media Services’ at www.unbiased.co.uk

1.  Independent Financial Adviser Promotion

IFA Promotion was established in 1989 to promote the value and accessibility of independent financial advice to the public.  It represents around 9,000 firms of independent financial advisers across the UK and is sponsored by 31 leading financial institutions. In 2004, over 440,000 consumers and businesses used IFA Promotion to find local independent financial advice.

IFA Promotion believes Independent financial advice should be:

·        Affordable.  The option to take independent financial advice should be available, by right, to all - not just the wealthiest in society.

·        Convenient.  IFAs should be available in the location of the consumer’s choice, wherever they live in the UK.

·        Transparent.  It must be clearly transparent to consumers who is able to offer independent financial advice and who is not.

2.      Independent Financial Adviser Promotion’s sponsors

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