Large majority does not cut back on old-age provision despite Corona
The Covid 19 pandemic has had little impact on supplementary pension provision in Germany. In other European countries, however, the balance is worse, as data from Insurance Europe show.
Most people in Europe are sticking to their retirement plan despite the Corona crisis.
In the summer of 2021, Insurance Europe, the European insurers' association, had a survey conducted to determine how the Corona pandemic had affected the assurance behaviour of Europeans. Around 16,800 people aged 18 to 70 from 16 countries took part in the survey. The current issue of Altersvorsorge kompakt summarizes the main findings.
The core finding is encouraging: For more than 70 per cent of Europeans, the economic side effects of the Corona pandemic had no impact on their own supplemental retirement savings. However, there are clear country-specific differences: In Denmark, Finland and Luxembourg, only seven per cent and in Germany eight per cent of respondents have spared on their retirement provision because of Corona. In Greece and Portugal, on the other hand, more than 30 per cent said they had postponed or reduced contributions to retirement plans or even canceled a retirement plan.
The vast majority of Europeans are not only persistent in their supplementary retirement provision, but also concerned about security. Given the choice between "return with risk" versus "safety with lower return", over 80 per cent of respondents opted for the safe option. At the same time, the orientation on security in Germany is by no means particularly strong: With 84 per cent in favour of the safe investment alternative, savers in this country are only slightly above the European average. The intended opening up of supplementary retirement provision to higher-yielding asset classes - as sensible as it is in times of negative interest rates - should therefore maintain a balance between opportunities for returns and controlled risk.