The first-gen pressure gap:
Why young South Africans shouldn't wait to protect their income

While more young South Africans are stepping into the role of provider earlier, many are leaving unprotected the very thing that makes all this progress possible - their income.

As Riaan van Reenen, Discovery Life CEO, explains: "More young South Africans are reaching significant financial milestones, but many are also carrying financial responsibility much earlier. The conversation around financial protection needs to evolve alongside that reality."

A generation doing everything first - except protecting their income

South Africa has one of the world's largest groups of first-generation students and professionals. According to Bayaga et al. (2022), more than 70% of university students are first-generation entrants into higher education.Often, the person who "makes it first" becomes the financial anchor of the family. This reality is especially common among first-generation earners and first-born children, where expectations around financial support run deep.

Why protecting income matters

For many young South Africans today, upward mobility depends almost entirely on personal income. That income makes:

• A first home possible
• A car repayment manageable
• A child's education affordable
• A parent's support sustainable
• Long-term savings achievable

Yet most people focus on protecting assets - like cars, homes or phones - before protecting the income that pays for them.

"Your income is the engine behind every future goal," says Gareth Friedlander, Deputy CEO of Discovery Life. "For many first-generation professionals, it's not only supporting their own ambitions, but also creating stability and opportunity for an entire family."

Why young professionals delay protection

Despite carrying major financial responsibility, most young South Africans still see life insurance as something for "later in life." Rising living costs, debt and family obligations often make protection feel less urgent.

But unexpected illness, disability or injury can disrupt income at any age. That's what makes South Africa's protection gap so concerning.

The country's life and disability insurance gap has widened to R50.4 trillion, with formally employed South Africans having enough cover to meet only 39% of their income protection needs (ASISA, 2025).

Among younger adults, the gap is even more pronounced. Despite growing financial responsibility, only 17% of South Africans under 30 have life insurance cover.

The need for protection is very real. In 2025 alone, Discovery Life paid R9.1 billion in claims across more than 9,000 claim events. Of this, 495 claims were for capital disability, with a total claims value of R987 million.

Looking specifically at income protection, the company paid R684 million across more than 2,000 claims, with the youngest claimant just 24 years old. Significantly, 73% of the amount paid was linked to permanent conditions. This data drives home the reality that illness, injury or disability can interrupt income earlier, and more severely, than many people expect.

Saving matters - but protecting income matters too

Savings and investments are important, but they are often not enough to absorb the impact of a long-term interruption to income - especially when multiple people depend on that income.

That's why life insurance should be viewed more broadly as protection for continuity. It's about protecting:

• The ability to provide
• The progress already made
• The plans still ahead
• The people who depend on you

This is where a more comprehensive approach to financial planning becomes important. Discovery Life offers a range of protection benefits, from the Income Continuation Benefit and the Severe Illness Benefit that protect your ability to provide, to solutions like the Global Education Protector that funds a child's education, and Discovery Wills and Trust Services that support the smooth transfer of assets and care for dependants, ultimately enabling continuity - even when life changes.

Young South Africans are already redefining what financial responsibility looks like - supporting families while building careers, taking on financial commitments earlier, and becoming providers before they are fully established.

For a generation doing so many things for the first time, protecting income is another important first.

Says Friedlander, "The question young earners should ask themselves isn't whether they're old enough to think about protection. It's whether the people, goals and progress that depend on them could continue if life suddenly changed."

"Comprehensive life insurance from Discovery Life helps protect not only your income, but also the future, opportunities and financial stability that result from your success."