Feeling grateful and paying forward

Just weeks into my retirement, while sitting on a beach beside the Giant’s Causeway on Ireland’s north coast, a profound sense of gratitude washed over me. It was for a person whose name I couldn’t recall and a face I’d forgotten.

Forty years prior, in my very first job, I served a customer who turned out to be a pension salesman. To make a long story short, he persuaded an 18-year-old me to open a personal pension, one that wisely increased its contributions annually with inflation.

This initial leap, albeit with an arguably overpriced and high-fee pension, ignited the wonder of compounding over a 40-year period. That momentum ultimately led to me enjoying that serene, empty beach on a workday, watching the Atlantic rollers break against the ancient rocks.

Today, I’m affectionately known by the children of my family and friends as the one who constantly urges them to open a pension and ‘pay their future selves.’ Thankfully, I’ve witnessed quite a few youngsters take that advice, and their success brings me immense satisfaction.”