People should be taught about pensions 'at an early stage'

People should be given the chance to learn more about the importance of pensions at an early stage in their lives, a politician has suggested.

Alongside pensions, Ed Balls would also like to see schoolchildren offered more details about saving money.

Mr Balls, who acts as the country's Children, Schools and Families Secretary, commented: "It's really important that we teach our children to become savvy consumers and that they learn about money matters like pensions, responsible saving and effective money management."

The politician made his remarks following a recent conference which he supported in collaboration with the Personal Finance Education Group and Martin Lewis, a financial expert.

Entitled Pocket Money to Pensions: Helping Young People Become Financially Capable, the event took place in the capital last week.

Meanwhile, those currently saving towards retirement products like annuities may be interested to note that Hargreaves Lansdown's Head of Pensions Research Tom McPhail recently suggested that the creation of an independent organisation dedicated to pension provision issues might prove beneficial in the UK.

Posted by Liam Tomlinson.