Friday March 15th 2019
Michelle Ballantyne MSP in the Scottish Parliament
This week at First Minister’s Questions, Michelle Ballantyne MSP asked Nicola Sturgeon whether she would consider adding pension education into the school curriculum.
The South Scotland politician highlighted that she has spoken to a number of young people and constituents who have a “very basic” understanding of their pensions.
Mrs. Ballantyne went on to highlight research which suggests that perceptions about state pensions are skewed. She pointed out a study that surveyed young people. They thought that state pensions are between £8 per week and £500.
This is why Michelle Ballantyne says that there should be some room in the academic curriculum so students can be taught how areas such as pensions work.
The First Minister of Scotland agreed that this was a “reasonable” point and that more could be done to improve young people’s understanding of pensions.
Michelle Ballantyne MSP commented:
“I’ve spoken to multiple young people in Midlothian and a lot of them seem slightly unsure about how their pensions work.
“This is why I raised the question with the First Minister.
“Schools is meant to prepare our young people for later on in life. Teaching young people about areas such as pensions and how they work could prove invaluable to them in later life.
“I hope that the Scottish Government looks into this further and tries to find a way that we can better educate people about important aspects of adult life such as pensions.”
Tweet Share on Facebook
