Tomorrow's Big Financial Issues

We look at the key financial issues of tomorrow - and what you can do about them today.

Looking ahead to what we should be doing with our money is not easy, but a good starting point is to take notes on what financial advisers are getting their sticky fingers into.

As luck would have it, a recent Prudential survey reveals what financial advisers have considered to be the big business areas in the past and present, and where they see personal finance moving in the future.

Back in the 1970s advisers were mostly concerned with savings. It was easier to save back in the days of Big Hair. They had more places to hide their money for a start.

These days it's much easier to get a load of credit, and advertising is so much sleeker. We have so much more to tempt us these days, too. We waste £500 per year on gym memberships we don't use, because we're watching our expensive satellite, cable or digital services, which can cost another £500 a year.

But, apart from the hair, the 1970s was all about the basics. It's a shame many of us have lost this sensible attitude, as we're in a much better position to save now than we were then. We can now easily compare savings accounts, plus we have access to tax-free savings accounts: the mini cash ISA.

By the 1980s, Prudential found that savings had reduced in importance, and at the top of the tree were pensions, which are still in the top spot today.

For those of us who spend all day looking into these matters, it's obvious to see why. Many people have no idea just how poor they might be when they retire, and financial advisers clamour to be the ones to tell you. Presumably, this is so that they can take your business whilst you're still in a state of shock.

You could, of course, read some free words from The Fool instead. If you're looking for a quality pension, our recent article entitled Cheap, Flexible, Reliable Pensions is a good starting point.

I've just started contributing an extra £50 per month to my pension. After the government's contribution, and assuming growth at an average 8% per year, that's an extra £11,000 in my pension pot after 10 years, £36,000 after 20 years, or £90,000 after 30 years! Not bad for a total investment £6,000, £12,000 or £18,000 respectively.

What's always been big in terms of advice say Prudential is insurance. OK, there's a lot of money to be made in this industry, probably more than any other financial industry, at least as far as sales to individuals go. The trick here is to shop around for the best deals on a regular basis, and not to accept every renewal quote that comes your way.

"What about the future then?" I don't hear you ask. But you should. Pensions and investments will continue to be important but the biggest growth area may be equity release. In fact, 95% of advisers said they thought their clients would need to supplement their retirement income by releasing cash from their home.

This comes as no surprise to me. I reckon we need a pension pot of at least £400,000 to live comfortably if we retire now. This means that in 20 to 25 years, after factoring in inflation, we'll need about £1million! That's pretty frightening.

> Learn more about saving for retirement in our Retirement & Pensions centre, equity release in our Property and Home centre, and compare insurance quotes in our Insurance centre.