Scottish Widows: People must save for the future

Date: 26th March 2008

People should start saving "in the cradle" and continue to save regularly into adulthood, according to financial group Scottish Widows.

Anne Young, a Scottish Widows savings expert, says young people are too reliant on their parents for financial support and feel they are unable to save due to high debts.

"You can really build up substantial sums by putting money away on a regular basis - even quite small sums," she comments.

"I'm a big fan of putting money away regularly. I love direct debit - it whisks it out of your bank account before you've even realised it's there in the first place."

Making the most of tax initiatives such as individual saving accounts and child trust funds to increase savings is a "no brainer", Ms Young adds.

According to Scottish Widows research, around 42 per cent of adult children use their parents' money to pay their debts.

It also emerged that 29 per cent of children need financial assistance from family when buying their own home.