New research by the Westpac Massey Fin-Ed Centre shows nearly half the study participants, aged between 23 and 27 years old, say they have learned ‘everything’, or ‘almost everything’ from their parents.

Centre director Dr Pushpa Wood told JUNO there is some risk involved with parents being the first port of call for financial advice.

“The risk is that parents themselves are not financially capable. If they don’t have the right up-to-date appropriate knowledge and information for the life stage their children are going through, then there is a risk that they might be passing on information, not deliberately, that may or may not be accurate, or appropriate.”

The 215 people are surveyed every five years as part of a 20-year longitudinal study by the centre.

Around 89 per cent of participants were in KiwiSaver, up from 60 per cent in 2012, a press release from the centre says.

Of these, 32 per cent were putting in 4 per cent or more contributions. “That gives me comfort that they’re starting to not only think about their distant future, but also starting to look at what they need to do to secure it,” Dr Wood says.

The Westpac Massey Fin-Ed Centre, or Financial Education and Research Centre, is a joint initiative by Westpac and Massey University that aims to improve the financial well-being of New Zealanders. The centre is part of the Massey University Business School.

Read the full report here.

By Claire Connell.

First published 28 March 2018

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