Is the language you speak affecting your ability to save for retirement?

A study by behavioural economist Keith Chen, Associate Professor of Economics at UCLA, suggests that the language we speak might be affecting our ability to prepare for the future.

Chen’s research found that speakers of languages without a future tense were more likely to have saved money in any given year, than speakers of languages which do have a future tense.

If your mother tongue is a language like English, French or Spanish, you might say: ‘In ten years, I will be a millionaire’. This sounds like something that may possibly happen – or it might not … there is a degree of implicit doubt.

Conversely, if your mother tongue is a language like German, Swedish or Dutch, you don’t always have to designate a time to actions. Future ideas are expressed using a verb in the present tense, coupled with a word or phrase like ‘tomorrow’ or ‘next year’. ‘In zehn Jahren bin ich Millionär’ quite literally, translates as, ‘In ten years I am a millionaire’. Not only does it sound more likely, it has already started happening now.

So, if speakers of languages with no future tense are willing to save for a future which seems closer, in the area of pensions communications, should we be choosing our words with more care?

As we endeavour to get more people to engage with the idea of having a pension, let’s ignore the future completely. By sticking decisively in the present and saying: ‘I have a pension’ and ‘I am saving for my life when I finish work’, we can engage more directly with people and help focus on the realities of saving now. Perhaps, having a pension means your retirement begins today.

You can find out more about Keith Chen’s research here.