ACCORDING TO THE RESULTS OF INSURANCE EUROPE’S SECOND PAN-EUROPEAN PENSION SURVEY, the EU pension savings gap persists, with more than a third of respondents not saving for retirement.
On December 1st, as part of European Retirement Week, universal life insurance Europe presented the results of its second pan-European pension survey. In this survey, he asked European citizens about their opinions and preferences regarding pensions. On this occasion, more than 16,000 people were interviewed in 16 countries of the European Union, including Spain.
RESULTS OF THE TEST
Among the most relevant results of this survey, it should be noted that, in Spain, 57% of people do not save for retirement, compared to 38% of the European average. This percentage is higher in the case of women (61% of Spanish women do not save compared to 53% of Spanish men) and young people (65% do not save for retirement).
Other very noteworthy results of the pension survey are the following:
The 30% of Europeans who do not save for retirement do so because they cannot afford it.
Nearly a fifth of those surveyed believes that COVID-19 has harmed their retirement savings.
- 83% of those surveyed in Europe prefer to be sure that they will recover the money invested for their retirement, even if this implies a more modest return, compared to 17% of those surveyed who prefer to take more significant risks in exchange for obtaining possible higher profitability. These percentages are the same as those for Spain.
- When asked about the aspect (guarantees, costs, profitability, risks, forms of collection, etc.) that they consider most relevant when choosing a pension product, 49% of them answered that your retirement savings’ security (guarantee) is by far your most important priority. In Spain, this percentage reaches 59%.
INSURANCE EUROPE RECOMMENDATIONS
As leading providers of pension products, Insurers are keen to work with policymakers to address the persistent savings gap for EU pensions. In a context where the COVID-19 pandemic has further increased the existing pension gap, Insurance Europe makes the following recommendations:
- It is vital to raise awareness of the need to save for retirement and improve levels of financial literacy so that people can make the most appropriate decisions based on their circumstances. Insurance Europe supports the EU’s recent focus on digital pension information. It welcomes the discussions taking place in the EU Capital Markets Union context on the role of pension monitoring services.
- The survey confirms the need for consumer-focused pension policies based on evidence of user demands and needs, so any initiative should always be subject to extensive consumer testing.
- There is a clear appetite for the protection offered by financial guarantees, annuities, and biometric coverage traditionally provided by insurers. It is critical that regulation, particularly the Solvency II prudential framework, does not prevent insurers from fulfilling their essential role in addressing the pension savings gap.
- The survey has confirmed the diversity inherent in saving for retirement in Europe. Pensions in different countries come in various forms and are influenced by a wide range of factors. As a result, there is no single approach to address all challenges.
This survey reflects the critical challenge we face to guarantee sufficient income during retirement. The role of insurers as providers of long-term and guaranteed pensions is essential to meet the challenge of complementing the retirement from public pension systems.
