Redington launches Will Power & Pensions Panda

Saving for the golden years remains an issue among many people in the UK, even while the length of the golden years increases. In a bid to start people saving young, Redington has, in collaboration with young stakeholders, developed the comic strip ‘Will Power & Pensions Panda’ aimed at improving financial literacy.

Redington was founded in 2006 and provides consulting services to pension funds and other long-term savings institutions. The firm, headquartered in London, advises over 60 clients including 11 of the largest pensions funds in the UK, and is responsible for over £350 billion in assets.

Saving for later life, as well as saving in general, is an important aspect of responsible living. A recent Towers Watson survey highlights that people in the UK are not engaging with their long-term need to save. Just over three-quarters (77%) of respondents say they need to talk more about their retirement planning, while 56% admit they rarely discuss their plan. Only 38% have had a conversation with someone on the issue in the last year. The research also shows that employees are on average saving £1,640 less of their salary annually than they think they should. This translates to saving 9.5% of salary instead of the ‘needed’ 14.3%. The problem is further compounded by the expected increase in life-expectancy: half of those born in the UK today are expected to make it to 100.

To improve the understanding of young people entering the workforce about the benefits and their need to save money for retirement and a rainy day, Redington recently launched an animated comic strip duo ‘Will Power & Pensions Panda’. The need to reach out to young people was highlighted in Redington’s recently released ‘The Age of Responsibility’ report, which shows that there has been a current socio-economic shift in the retirement savings landscape, which is underscoring the need for young people to better prepare their financial security toward retirement.

Will Power & Pensions Panda
The comic Will Power & Pensions Panda will use humour to engage young people about topics pertinent to improving their financial literacy, disseminating easy to understand advice about risk, debt, diversification and the benefits of long-term compound interest. The strip was inspired through Redington’s financial education initiative, RedSTART, at which young people were challenged to develop a means to reach out to other young people about their need to save. The result of the programme was that visual images and dialogue worked best in their engagement.

“We are excited about the creation of Will Power & Pensions Panda and the impact it will have on financial literacy in the UK. We need to enable our young people and those entering the workforce to be more financially aware,” remarks Redington Head of Strategy, Mitesh Sheth. “Many young people understand saving at its most basic level, but the reality is, they need to improve their understanding of debt and risk and develop a long-term saving discipline. It is time to move beyond the basic idea of a piggy bank and embrace the Pensions Panda.”

Rob Gardner, co-CEO of Redington adds: “According to MyBnk, 9 out of 10 people in the UK have received no financial education. Through our RedSTART initiative, it has been demonstrated how willing young people are to engage on personal finance issues. Will Power & Pensions Panda channels the energy of these young people and the RedSTART sessions.”