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Session 9: How Do Your Choices Today Affect Your Future Life?

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Start thinking: What am I? Write down your answer when you work it out. How many clues do you need?

1

I quietly take a slice of your money every month, and most people barely notice I’m there.

2

Your employer gives me free money, but only if you don’t turn me down.

3

The younger you are when we meet, the richer I’ll make you.

4

Ignore me in your twenties and it could cost you tens of thousands of pounds.

5

You can’t touch me for decades, and that’s exactly the point.

6

I’m built while you work… and I pay you back when you stop.

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I am a pension.

The decisions that you make in your early life will have a big impact on you later in life.

Start at 22

Start at 32

These two people paid the same monthly amount into their pension. The person who started aged 22 ended up with almost double the other person when retiring - starting early makes a huge difference.

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Today’s Big Question:

What does ‘future you’ actually need?

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What does ‘future you’ actually need?

PATHWAY 1

What Is Your Pension

Superpower?

    • What a pension is
    • Auto-enrolment & employer match
    • Start at 22 vs 32

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10 mins

PATHWAY 2

Future You: The Long-Term Impact of Choices

    • Two life stories
    • Opportunity cost
    • Habits compound

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10 mins

Finished? Have a go at the Pension Pot Minigame.

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Financial Horizons

You are going to look at lots of different financial decisions.

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In your groups, group the decisions into three categories:

1. For you now (decision that benefits you today)

2. For you soon (decision that benefits you in the near-future)

3. For future you (decision that benefits you in the long term)

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Some decisions might fit into more than one category.

Be ready to justify your reasons.

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Buying a new pair of trainers because they are popular on social media.

Putting £10 a week aside to buy a new phone in six months.

Starting to pay a small amount into a pension when you get your first job.

Spending birthday money on a gaming skin or in-app purchase.

Saving money for a school trip next year.

Choosing to save part of your wages every month instead of spending it all.

Buying lunch every day instead of sometimes bringing food from home.

Buying concert tickets as soon as they go on sale because everyone else is going.

Keeping some money aside for emergencies.

Starting to save early because money grows over time through compound interest.

Spending all your first wage packet on clothes and entertainment.

Choosing a savings account with good long-term returns.

Financial Horizons

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For you now

Buying lunch every day instead of

sometimes bringing food from home.

Spending birthday money on a gaming

skin or in-app purchase

Buying concert tickets as soon as they

go on sale because everyone else is going.

Spending all your first wage packet on

clothes and entertainment.

Buying a new pair of trainers because

they are popular on social media.

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Keeping some money aside for

emergencies.

Saving money for a school trip next

year.

Putting £10 a week aside to buy a new

phone in six months.

For you soon

Choosing to save part of your wages every

month instead of spending it all.

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For future you

Keeping some money aside for

emergencies.

Choosing to save part of your wages

every month instead of spending it all.

Starting to pay a small amount into a

pension when you get your first job.

Choosing a savings account with good

long-term returns.

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  1. Which zone was hardest to judge?

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  • Why does the purpose behind a choice matter more than the amount?

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Financial Horizons: Debrief

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WE HAVE COVERED:

    • What a pension is and how it works.
    • Why starting to save early creates significant long-term advantages.
    • The trade-offs between present spending and future financial security.
    • The long-term impact of starting to save at different ages.
    • What auto-enrolment is and how workplace pension matching works.

Learner Journal

Part 1: Three Things I Learnt Today

Open your Learner Journal. Write down three things you learnt. These can be facts, ideas, or things that surprised you.

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What is the one financial decision, however small, that future you would most thank present you for making today?

Write your response in your Learner Journal, then finish sections 3-5.

Learner Journal

Part 2: Reflective Question

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“Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” Warren Buffett, investor (1991)

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Future you has to live the decisions that you make today. Every pound saved now is a vote for the life you want to live later.

Lock-In Quote

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Extension Activities

The Richest Man Who Ever Lived

A Pension For A Nation

Extension 1

Extension 2