Conclusions

The pensions gap raises significant challenges across Europe. Whilst the nature of these challenges and the potential solutions will vary depending on the structure of existing provision in each country and the social and cultural conditions in which this operates, Aviva has drawn the following conclusions which apply across the region as a whole:

Conclusions for governments

The pensions gap is significant and will only increase unless urgent action is taken
In reality there is no single lever that can be pulled to fully close the pensions gap. Governments will have to combine various measures such as increasing the retirement age or incentivising greater private pension saving, especially for middle income earners
There is a need to raise people’s awareness that they should start saving more and earlier

Conclusions for individuals

Individuals will need to take greater responsibility for their own retirement
The biggest influence on an individual’s ability to maintain their standard of living is how much they save during their working lives relative to their retirement expectations
Non-pension assets, such as property, can only be one part of a wider strategy to cover an individual's retirement needs