As I read through the most recent pre-budget report, I couldn’t shake a familiar concern: once again, we are focused on managing today’s pressures without fully reckoning with what we owe future generations. I understand the constraints. I understand the trade-offs. But I also believe that if we are serious about building a resilient Bermuda, we must be more intentional about how we invest in our children — not just now, but over the long term.

When we think about investing in Bermuda’s young people, we rightly focus on health and education. We fund prenatal care, early childhood programmes, child daycare assistance, public schools and youth services, all because we understand a simple truth: when our children thrive, Bermuda thrives.

Yet, for all this investment, one critical area remains overlooked: financial security and financial literacy. And it is time for that to change.

I would like to see Bermuda make an intentional, universal investment in every child at birth: $500 per child, set aside and paired with age-appropriate financial education as they grow. With fewer than 500 children born each year, this is not an unrealistic proposal. It is a practical, affordable and forward-thinking commitment to our collective future.

Too often, we address financial instability only after it becomes a crisis. Through social services, we spend significant public dollars responding to poverty, debt, housing insecurity and unemployment. These investments are necessary and compassionate, but they are also reactive. A birth-based financial investment would allow us to diversify how we support Bermudians, shifting some of our focus towards prevention, preparation and empowerment.

A $500 seed fund may not seem transformative on its own, but when invested over time — especially when paired with optional family contributions or matched savings incentives — and supported with structured financial education, it becomes something far more powerful: a foundation. For a young adult, that fund could support postsecondary education, job training, a first-business idea, or serve as early capital towards long-term financial goals. Just as importantly, it would come with knowledge — how to save, how compound interest works, how to budget and how consistent contributions from multiple sources can accelerate opportunity.

Financial literacy is not intuitive. It is learnt. And when it is not taught intentionally, the consequences show up later in life as debt cycles, limited mobility and dependence on emergency supports. If we can teach literacy and numeracy in schools, we can also teach children how money works — step by step, year by year, in ways that are developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant.

This proposal is not about replacing social services. It is about strengthening them. By investing early, we reduce the long-term strain on systems designed to catch people when they fall. We also send a powerful message to every child born in Bermuda: you matter, your future matters and this country believes in your potential.

Universal programmes also have an advantage that targeted programmes do not — they remove stigma. Every child receives the same start, regardless of background. Over time, this shared investment helps to narrow gaps rather than widen them.

Bermuda has shown that it can act boldly when it comes to its children. We have the infrastructure, the expertise and the fiscal capacity to do this. What is required now is intention. Intention to see financial capability as a public good. Intention to think beyond election cycles. Intention to invest not just in surviving today, but in thriving tomorrow.

We often ask whether we can afford new initiatives. In this case, the better question is whether we can afford not to make this investment. The cost is modest. The potential return — measured in opportunity, resilience and dignity — is enormous.

If we truly believe that every child deserves a healthy start and a quality education, then we must also believe they deserve a fair financial foundation. Bermuda can do this. And we should.

• Arianna Hodgson was a government senator and junior minister from 2020 to 2025