Generations apart
Throughout this General Election campaign the focus has, once again, been on pensioners. It seems that this demographic group has been placed on a pedestal and the needs of certain other demographic groups are being ignored as a result. The state pension, the triple lock, funding long term care and winter fuel allowances have been key battlegrounds between the Conservative and Labour parties. It’s now common knowledge that older voters are courted more heavily as they are more likely to head to the polls on June 8th while millennials are less likely to turn up and so their needs are more easily ignored.
Even so, millennials face significant financial challenges. Many are currently caught in the “debt trap” of student loans, high house rental costs and the prospect of having to work to age 70 before they receive a state pension. If politicians continue to place their needs lower down the agenda, this will eventually come back to bite them on the proverbial when this group do eventually become more politically engaged.
One thing the current government has introduced that is aimed at giving millennials a helping hand, but has not featured much in the current debate, is the Lifetime ISA. Aside from the SNP calling for its abolition it hasn’t made much headway on the General Election 2017 campaign trail which is disappointing. If anything, politicians should be arguing for greater support for this investment and for ways of making the Lifetime ISA even more appealing to young people throughout their lifetime.