It’s a question that comes up frequently in conversations with clients who are parents.

From the outside, everything appears to be going well. Your adult child’s income is strong, careers are progressing, and there is a sense that time is on their side. Yet saving, investing, or planning for the longer term often sits firmly on the back burner.

This tension – between visible success today and limited engagement with the future – is a familiar one.

Why many HENRYs put the future on hold

Research among UK financial advisers shows this pattern is widespread among HENRYs – High Earners, Not Rich Yet – people earning well, but whose wealth has not yet caught up with their income.

According to the research:

• 49% of HENRYs lack consistent saving or investing discipline, despite strong earnings
• 58% struggle with lifestyle costs rising alongside income
• 73% are described as relying on future earnings rather than building wealth alongside what they earn today

Taken together, this points less to poor decision-making and more to context. Earnings are healthy, costs rise as lifestyles expand, and attention is often focused on immediate priorities rather than long-term outcomes.

This is a pattern frequently observed in practice. Many HENRY clients are financially capable and sensible, but operate in a phase where income is doing most of the work and long-term planning has not yet become a pressing concern.

Why earning well doesn’t automatically lead to security

A strong income is a powerful starting point, but it is not a strategy in itself.

In fact, 80% of advisers believe HENRYs are vulnerable due to poor diversification or the absence of a clear long-term investment strategy. Money may sit across pensions, savings and investments, but without a joined-up approach, outcomes are often left to chance.

The risk here is not active mismanagement, but drift – allowing income growth to substitute for structure, and assuming there will always be time to address things later.

Why this can be difficult territory for families

Concerns about the future often sit quietly beneath family relationships. Parents may recognise the opportunity being created by strong earnings and worry about it being missed, without wanting to interfere or overstep.

At the same time, long-term financial conversations can feel uncomfortable. Planning is easily framed as restrictive, overly cautious, or unnecessary when income is still rising and life feels full.

This helps explain why 74% of advisers say many HENRYs do not have a clear understanding of the financial tools available to them – not because they lack capability, but because those tools have not yet felt relevant to their current stage of life.

Where future-focused conversations tend to unlock engagement

In practice, conversations gain more traction when they move beyond mechanics and towards meaning.

For many HENRYs, the idea of “retirement” feels abstract or outdated – a distant endpoint rather than something connected to how they want life to feel. Planning framed purely around pensions or long-term saving often fails to inspire engagement.

What tends to resonate more is a conversation rooted in freedom rather than age.

This might include:

• having the option to step back from full-time work earlier
• choosing how and when to work, rather than working by default
• taking extended time off without financial stress
• building a future that allows for flexibility as priorities change

When planning is linked to the life it enables – rather than the discipline it requires – it becomes easier to engage with.

This is frequently observed in practice. HENRYs who struggle to connect with saving or investing often respond differently when the conversation shifts to what those decisions make possible: choice, autonomy and control over the direction of their lives.

Why waiting carries more risk than it used to

The environment HENRYs are operating in has changed.

Advisers point to:

• effective tax rates of up to 60% on income between £100,000 and £125,140
• shrinking dividend and capital gains allowances
• increased reliance on tax-efficient investing to protect long-term outcomes

As a result, 89% of advisers report that HENRYs continue to operate with avoidable tax inefficiencies. In this context, relying on future earnings alone is increasingly unlikely to compensate for decisions deferred today.

Porta’s Take

The question at the heart of this issue is not really about saving. It is about perspective.

HENRYs often sit in a phase of life where income feels reliable, momentum is strong, and the future still feels comfortably distant. In that context, disengagement from long-term planning is understandable – but it is also where the greatest opportunity cost quietly builds.

The most effective conversations are not about pressure or warnings. They are about possibility: helping someone articulate the freedom they want their future to give them, and then showing how today’s success can be translated into structure, resilience and choice over time.

That is usually where interest turns into engagement.

Important information:
This article provides general information only and does not constitute personal financial advice. The information is based on our understanding of current regulations, which may change in future. Decisions about your finances should always be made based on your individual circumstances. If you’re unsure about the suitability of any course of action, you should seek regulated financial advice.The Financial Conduct Authority do not regulate tax planning or estate planning. The value of your investments can go down as well as up, so you could get back less than you invested.

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