Why More Young People Are Thinking About Retirement

Research shows that every third 20-year-old is putting something aside for “old age.”

It is said that young people think of themselves as “invulnerable and eternal.” That they do not think about the passing of time and that one day they will grow old and sick (at 64.8 years of age, according to today's statistics). And that it does not occur to twenty-year-olds that when they grow old they will not be able to earn a living. And yet: Every third French person between the ages of 18 and 24 has already started saving something for old age.

Not all young people “live in their own world.” This is the result of the latest “Insurance Barometer” study conducted in France by BPCE on behalf of the magazine “L'Observateur,” which showed that every second French worker (48%, to be precise) is concerned about his standard of living in retirement and regularly saves money for this purpose.

This is true for France, but one can assume that it is more or less the same true for the rest of Europebecause the economic, political and social conditions for all Europeans are the same and similar.

It seems, as noted by the Observator and the Figaro newspaper, which also analyzed the study, that percentage of young people, concerned about their future economic and social status is constantly increasing.

The observed weakening of pension funds in Europe and throughout the Western world, as well as the visible impoverishment of the middle class and especially older age groups in recent decades increased concerns among young people about their standard of living in retirement.

Thus, in a representative sample of 2,000 people who took part in the BPCE survey, 46% of young people aged 25 to 35 systematically save money for old ageEven in the youngest age group (18 to 24 years old), the corresponding percentage reached 37%, increasing by two percentage points annually in recent years.

Stressful Future
Overall, workers under 40 are still saving money to finance the most important “projects” in their lives, such as buying a first home, cottage or car. However, in the last two decades (and especially since the onset of the global financial crisis in 2009), the French seem to be all more concerned about the size of the pension that awaits them.

The survey found that 43% of French workers (young and middle-aged) are concerned about losing the financial ability to “live normally”, while 37% fear they will not be able to remain “financially independent” in the coming years.

“These fears are the reason why more and more French people invest in the pension savings program (PER), which was launched in the country in 2019 to provide workers with additional future income“, writes Figaro. “WedThe funds from these investments can only be released at the end of the contributor's service/retirement“,” the newspaper explains.

Insufficient income
If young people worry about their old age, it is because suspicions (even certainty) that the standard of living of pensioners will worsen“Of course, if you compare the average standard of living of pensioners with the population as a whole, it turns out to be somewhat higher, since each pensioner in 2019 received 2,132 euros per month compared to 2,099 euros (the average salary of workers)“, writes Figaro, citing data from the statistical agency Drees, controlled by the “social” ministries.

But, in the opinion of Drees, the inflation that followed in subsequent years has already begun to reduce the purchasing power of pensioners, despite the increase in pensions“Pensioners' purchasing power falls by 1.3% per year after 2020“, Drees notes.

Debates on pension reform in the government, marked numerous protestscontributed greatly to the awareness of the upcoming difficulties among young French people, the French newspaper notes. In addition, the rallies revealed demographic problem combined with the financial situation in the country.

This problem is much less in France compared to other European countries such as Greece and Italy.

Independence and Travel
«Fortunately, retirement brings more than just anxiety.“, – the researchers note. Many respondents save money in order to spend more time “for themselves” (50%) and with their loved ones (45%) after work.

Finally, as many as 45% of surveyed workers also plan to use their pension to “travel the world”. This is also an incentive to start saving money earlier.

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