Financial Literacy Cultivates a Culture of Saving

Savings culture is a lifelong discipline that can lead to an accumulation of personal wealth.

Since financial literacy can cultivate a culture of saving, awareness through a targeted approach to achieve the appropriate financial objectives is required.

The ability to comprehend and effectively utilise financial skills is critical in the workplace.

Having a savings culture is a necessity for the financial well-being of households and the Namibian economy.

The current level of savings by households, based on research, remains a concern.

Literature highlights that the adequacy of retirement savings is low and as a result, households do not accumulate sufficient wealth, which has profound implications on personal welfare, as well as public policy.

Low-saving households may lack a buffer to deal with negative shocks in the long run, therefore, it is highly likely that such households will depend on public support in the foreseeable future.

If this assumption is true, more deliberate efforts need to be made by employers to improve the saving culture among employees to improve the understanding of the fundamental pillars of money matters, including budgeting, saving, debt and the importance of investing.

Financial literacy is one of the aspects most employers do not consider as a necessary tool when embarking on various internal employee interventions.

Assuming employers consider the provision of such basic financial education as not their responsibility but rather a personal matter an individual employee should take up with either their retirement savings service provider or banking institution.

The assumption is that employees are already well informed about financial matters.

The employers, by virtue of maintaining a compulsory pension scheme, assume that the future financial needs of their employees are addressed and, therefore, further information regarding additional voluntary savings is not necessary.

This misconception results in employees not having additional savings that could assist them during difficult times or simply for the improvement of their retirement packages.

Employees are advised to always have a certain level of savings to prepare for any eventualities that may arise.

Employers are encouraged to provide basic financial education for their employees, as the absence of it may have some unintended negative implications to the sustainability of the company.

Employees who are financially literate may experience improved mental health where as those who resort to borrowing excessively may not be productive due to poor financial well-being, resulting in absence from the workplace, demanding higher salaries and benefits, and, in some instances, a higher turnover.

The Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) encourages its employees to improve their future financial well-being by offering additional monthly voluntary pension contributions which, if taken up by employees at an early stage of their career, can enhance their future financial prospects.

These additional voluntary contributions are options that can be explored to enhance retirement savings. It’s a savings plan supported by regulations, and employees can participate in such schemes from the time they enter employment.

The fund further provides internal financial literacy awareness sessions by inviting financial experts to provide information on investments, savings and pre-retirement information and options available to employees.

This is a good option to encourage savings, and it is flexible, since the option to participate in the scheme remains with the employees.

It is my conviction that if voluntary pension contribution awareness is encouraged, more employees will participate and in the long run ultimately improve savings culture in the economy.

In addition, voluntary contribution adds to the equation of the current compulsory pension contribution and if taken seriously might increase the likelihood of good retirement benefits for employees.

This additional amount is added to the monthly contribution to boost future retirement savings.

It is advisable to take the smaller voluntary contribution as a starting point and gradually increase savings to a higher voluntary contribution over time, based on sustainability and individual circumstances.

This will certainly increase and complement the benefits expected in the future.

Therefore, the idea of voluntary contributions needs to be encouraged by employers as part of their commitment to improving financial literacy among employees.

The impact of voluntary additional pension contributions will help employees grasp the fundamentals of financial management and grow their savings to improve their future financial well-being.

Employers are encouraged to create a culture of saving by providing various information sessions on financial literacy to empower employees on the value of managing their own money and being prepared for any financial shocks that may arise.

– Daniel Ndara is the general manager of finance and administration at the GIPF.

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