Shafinaaz takes a deep breath. “Today was another race against time,” she said when I met her late Friday afternoon. “This is how it always is before the weekend. Customers want to be called back, I need to plan meetings with mortgage advisers, people want a new house, a renovation or are getting a divorce. We first give them a list of questions to find out if a meeting will be any use. The current housing market is a madhouse. I’ve managed to finish everything on time, thank goodness.”

“I’m 32, so retirement is a long way off for me. That doesn't mean I’m uninterested or clueless. In the Netherlands, the retirement age is currently 67, but more and more people think that might go up to 70. What my life will look like then? No idea. My parents are both retired. My dad always says I should prepare for retirement well ahead of time. Many people think it would be ideal to stop working earlier, but they could fall into a sort of limbo when they reach their retirement age.”

Start as soon as possible
“I’ve been working at NN for six years now, and three years ago I started at the mortgage department. We point our customers’ attention to their pension. In fact, when someone is 57, they need to submit their pension details to us. At that age, they don't expect that yet. I check my Uniform Pension Overview – not every week or month, but from time to time. For instance, I wanted to check how my pension would be affected when I switched from a being a temporary worker to a permanent employee. My pension administrator changed, but the pension I had already accrued couldn't be transferred because it was too low. Since I joined NN, I’ve been building up my pension every month and that feels comfortable. That's why I wanted to get a permanent contract as soon as I could. I didn’t get one at first, but after switching I did.

In the same boat
“Of course, that's also important if you want a mortgage. I went to look for a house while my partner was still living in Suriname. He has since moved to the Netherlands and had to meet all sorts of requirements. So those were my two main reasons for wanting a permanent contract. Building up a pension is an extra perk. We check that together nowadays. As a temporary worker, he is now in the same boat I used to be in. And because he only moved to the Netherlands recently, he won't be building up a full pension. That got us thinking. How will it affect us in the future? It triggered us to start setting aside money.”

Get organized
“Make sure you have a clear picture of your recurring expenses and what you could save on. If you use a bank debit card, you might not realise how much you're actually spending. That can lead to unpleasant surprises when you add it all up. I like organising things and I need structure, so I make schedules. I want to know what to expect. I check my payments via internet banking. Like most people, I have a Netflix account. But I also share a Disney account with my brother, and I used to have Prime Video as well. 'Do I really need all those accounts,' I thought to myself. Which ones are you using? Unsubscribe if you don’t. Get organised, for your future. The first time you set up a monthly summary, you might be surprised. But I think everyone can save money, as long as you have insight. You can’t change until you see the facts.”