Millennials told they should be saving £800 a month if they want a £30,000 a year income when they retire; millennials react with Kanye jokes and cat gifs
Millennials are having a hard enough time saving up for a deposit on a house: now they're being told they should be putting £800 aside each month for their retirement.
That's the amount that Rebecca Taylor, director at the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments, has said 25-year olds should be averaging every month for the next 40 years if they want to retire at the age of 65 with an income of £30,000.
"I don't think people realise how much they need to save to get a decent income later on", Taylor said in an interview with the FT.
Taylor, who is CFP qualified, a chartered FCSI and member of the CISI IFP professional forum committee, told City A.M: "People's expectations are really high in terms of their retirement income – a lot of people would expect to get £30,000 a year. If they want to do that, £800 is the sort of figure they would need to save."
As outgoings tend to drop in later years – once the mortgage has (hopefully) been paid and those expensive children have been waved off – an income of £10,000 would cover basics but "niceties" would require a higher income, she added.
"But my point was that it's not so much that you need to save £800 a month – you need the discipline of saving early. To me the important thing is people save – whether for a pension, a house – it's your priorities at the time that will dictate that.
"You do see it when people get later on and they've left it too late."
It's fair to say the reaction on social media has backed up Taylor's view that 20-somethings (and, let's face it, 30-somethings as well) are not planning ahead sufficiently.
And, because they're millennials, the responses included lols, Kanye West in jokes and cat pictures.
25 year olds need to save £800 a month to retire at 65. I don't even make £800 a month! Work til dead then 👍🏻
— emma (@emmabakerrr) February 16, 2016
I save £800 a month towards my pension #BoastLikeKanye
— Left Outside (@leftoutside) February 16, 2016
Seriously, though. Old people with three houses telling young people to save more money.
Tax them. Tax them til they bleed.
— jonn elledge (@JonnElledge) February 16, 2016
https://twitter.com/BuckinghamAlice/status/699582183380557826
https://twitter.com/NuclearTeeth/status/699608698193321985
Young people: Instead of saving £800 a month for a pension, spend £400 a month on smack and die aged 42 having enjoyed lots of lovely smack
— Will (@teletextpage152) February 16, 2016
https://twitter.com/rey_z/status/699601700018061312