If there is one big favour 20 something year olds can do for themselves is to start saving for retirement now, while they are still young. Sadly, lack of understanding of personal finances means that many do not appreciate the importance of starting to save for retirement from their very first salary cheques. The last thing a young person wants to hear about is saving for retirement. When we point this out to them, we often never hear from them again.

On the other hand, those who are in their 40s and later, suddenly start thinking about retirement. The table below should hopefully impress upon you why it is important to start saving for retirement from a young age. If you are a parent reading this, please share this with your children. When parents speak to their children about money, it makes the kids more receptive to listening to financial advisors.

The example below was taken from Glacier by Sanlam

Note

• Sthe, Thandi and Zodwa are all saving for retirement  and each one is contributing R1000 towards their retirement
• Sthe starts saving R1000 per month at the age of 25, Thandi starts at age 35 and Zodwa only starts at age 45
• They all contribute towards a retirement annuity until they reach age 60
• They increase their monthly contribution by 10% every year

Source: Waldette Stoffberg, business development manager at Glacier by Sanlam, 2025