Two-thirds of Dutch people worried about retirement
Written by Tineke de Vries
02/02/18
Only 21 per cent of Dutch people believe they will eventually have saved enough for retirement, according to an international study by Mercer on financial security among over 8,300 people.
Two in three Dutch people feel insecure about their financial future and almost half feel stressed by their financial situation. Women in particular feel insecure about their retirement income. They save less than men and experience more stress. A quarter of Dutch women are worried their retirement income will be inadequate.
Mercer Nederland CEO David Sanderse said: “The fear to be saving too little for retirement is unfortunately justified for many Dutch people. Dutch people expect that they will spend 15 to 20 years in retirement, but cannot afford that without better financial planning.
More than ever, employees need to be actively involved in their own financial planning, also because of the shift within the pension law which puts more emphasis on the individual.”
At the moment financial planning is at the bottom of the priority list for many Dutch people. More than half has not calculated how much money they will need for the duration of their retirement and also does not know how much their pension income will be upon reaching retirement.
Almost half of Dutch people are not a member of a personal pension plan. The most important reasons for this are unemployment or that they can simply not afford it. Thirteen per cent indicate that it is not possible to save for retirement at their employer. More than half of the 18-to-34-year-olds expect they will have to keep working past their retirement age or even that they will never retire.
More than 80 per cent depend on the employer to provide independent financial advice with regards to the planning, saving and investing for retirement.
“Now that pensions are more aimed at the individual, it is up to the employers to inform their employees. For example about the choices of the new pension system. For many Dutch people this is still hocus-pocus. Employers need to meet the needs of the individual and no longer that of the collective. One employee might want extra contributions into their individual pension pot, while another prefers
a company car,” Sanderse said.
