One 20-year-old’s financial future is looking brighter after his aunt convinced him to join his workplace pension and take advantage of the “free money” on offer.

Rio started working at 18, too young to be “auto-enrolled” into his company’s pension scheme. He as given the option to join but had decided not to because he felt it was too expensive – but, fortunately for him, his “Auntie Susan” is a pensions expert at a leading retirement firm, and she soon put him right.

Nearly two years later, being in the scheme has cost him about £2,000 in his own contributions, but he already has £8,000 in his fund.

“I’m glad my Auntie Susan could explain to me what I would be losing out on if I didn’t join my workplace pension early,” he says. “All I really saw was the fact that I would have less money to spend right now, but I didn’t really understand the free money I was giving up.”

Since 2012, employers have had to enrol eligible workers into a workplace pension scheme into which both pay money.…