The boss of the island’s Financial Services Authority has spoken of the importance of people taking steps to safeguard their financial future.

She spoke as a new Pension Matters campaign was launched.

And Karen Badgerow, the FSA’s chief executive welcomed a special leaflet on the subject, which will be included inside next week’s free Courier newspaper.

The colourful brochure is packed with vital information for people of all ages and has been developed by the FSA in association with professional body, the Personal Finance Society.

The campaign comes at a time when pensions are rarely out of the headlines in the island.

Only this week in our sister paper, the Examiner, Treasury minister Alfred Cannan outlined details in Tynwald of the flat rate of £180-a-week state pension that will come in next year. He also announced the state pension age will rise to 67 - eight years earlier than planned - for people born after March 5, 1961.

The new campaign is being backed by the Office of Fair Trading and the island’s government.

One of the crucial messages is that it is never too late, or indeed too early, to start considering the subject of pensions and our financial future.

Karen Badgerow said she hopes the campaign, including the document in the Courier, will make a lot of impact in the community.

She said: ’I certainly believe it will make people think and it provides information that will enable people to take those important next steps. And that’s really our goal.’

Karen said she felt now was an ’opportune time’ to launch the consumer awareness campaign which also includes plans to hold public information sessions.

The leaflet asks questions such as when should you start saving? What do you want to do in your retirement? How much will you need to put aside? What can you do with your pension savings when you retire to make them last your whole life?

Karen said: ’Looking at some of the research that has been done there is a lack of awareness in terms of pensions and savings.

’[For instance] it is estimated about a quarter of people over 55 have no real knowledge about pensions.’

Claire Whitelegg, senior manager, banking, funds and investments at the FSA, said: ’People know what a pension is but many have no idea how it works.’ Karen added: ’In the campaign we just want to give people some things to think about, such as how do you start saving for a pension and how do you go about setting goals.’

She continued: ’I think this is a very positive campaign. There is a note of caution too in some of our literature, about fraud. We are mindful of that and the old adage that people should not put all their eggs in one basket.’

Claire Whitelegg and her small team were responsible for putting the document together.

She said she and her team were conscious that, from the consumer point of view, there was little information about Isle of Man pensions.

She said: ’It is different over here.

’Our structures here are different.

’This really is an opportunity to raise the profile about Isle of Man pensions.

’It is about empowerment and helping people to help themselves.’

Both women acknowledged lots of people see pensions and retirement as being somewhat daunting and they are put off thinking about their retirement.

An important question people have to ask is, when they reach retirement, if their pensions (including state pension) is insufficient, and they don’t have savings, how will they provide for a comfortable retirement?

The people behind the campaign say the earlier that people start to save for retirement the better prepared they will be.

They hope people will find the leaflet in next week’s Courier useful and something they can keep close at hand.