Focus on pensions could reduce stress

26 July 2010

We all have money troubles from time to time. We may make a throwaway comment about how broke we are or how we can’t afford something, but the repercussions of serious financial difficulties can be a problem, mentally and physically.

I’d not heard the term money sickness syndrome until recently but apparently the number of adults suffering from MSS has doubled since 2006, when GP and mental health expert Dr Roger Henderson coined the term.

The syndrome is said to affect everyone from unskilled workers and pensioners to managers and professionals.

In the past 12 months 63% of adults claimed that stress caused by their finances has increased. Hardest hit are those in junior managerial and supervisory jobs, with 66% complaining of rising stress over money.

But it is pensioners who are most likely to seek out an IFA to help ease their money worries.

It’s easy to take the subject of supposed stress-related illnesses lightly but the fact remains that an increasing number of people are worrying about their financial futures, with pensions inevitably playing a big part in this.

We have to work harder to ensure that more people of all ages get the right types of advice for their financial well-being.

Providing regular assessments of pension pots can improve financial peace of mind, and if we start this education process early enough in clients’ financial lifetime, at least some future stress could be eliminated.

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