Dr. Tom Mathar, Head of Aegon’s Centre for Behavioural Research, comments on the financial advice UK adults would give to their younger selves.

The latest Financial Priorities survey by Aegon has unveiled significant insights into the advice UK adults would give to their younger selves, with the results highlighting the importance of early saving and future planning.

• Half of respondents would tell their younger selves to ‘Start saving as early as possible’ (48%).
• When asked to pick topics people wish they’d learned more about at a younger age, ‘Retirement planning’ came second (17%), behind only ‘Investing and growing wealth’ (22%).

Dr. Tom Mathar, Head of Aegon’s Centre for Behavioural Research, comments on the findings:

Our findings highlight how difficult it is to balance present needs with future security. A majority, especially women and those over 50, look back with some sense of regret, wishing they had started saving earlier. This suggests that financial planning isn’t just about building wealth. It’s also about making better trade-offs throughout life.

Our recent Second 50: Addressing the gender pensions gap report outlines the unique financial hurdles that women often face, whether due to career breaks, longer life expectancy, or societal expectations around money management.

Whilst financial education plays a crucial role, what may be even more important is longevity education: helping people to understand how their financial, health and lifestyle choices interact over a longer life. Different life stages bring different financial priorities, and a more holistic approach is needed to support people in making informed decisions.

Full press release: Time-travelling Brits would tell their younger selves to start saving earlier

Media contact: James Till, Aegon, James.Till@aegon.co.uk