The good news is that German women have recognised the importance of additional pension plans and make better provisions overall than was the case five years ago. However, almost a quarter of women still rely on the state pension for retirement and young women in particular are investing considerably less in their pensions.
The good news is that German women have recognised the importance of additional pension plans and make better provisions overall than was the case five years ago. However, almost a quarter of women still rely on the state pension for retirement and young women in particular are investing considerably less in their pensions. These are some of the findings from a representative survey carried out by opinion research institute TNS Infratest in the summer of 2008 on behalf of the Wiesbaden-based financial service provider Delta Lloyd. A total of 1,000 women aged between 18 and 50 years were questioned on pension provision in the course of this survey.
Women from eastern Germany in the lead
The majority of German women - 55.7% - have recognised the need for private pension plans and consider the matter a top priority. It is very clear that the ongoing public debate about the pension gap has increased awareness. In an identical survey carried out five years ago, only 44.7% ranked pensions in first place, that is 11% less. In eastern Germany, women's attitudes have changed to an even greater extent: compared with 2003, the number of employed women regarding the pension as the most important matter has risen by almost 30% to 70.6%.
Majority feel well covered
To the question of how they would assess their own pension plans, 56.6% of women interviewed said they felt that they were very or fairly well covered. There is no significant change here compared with 2003. However, 41.3% still fear that they will have to accept a lower standard of living during retirement, or even that they could be threatened with poverty. Fear of lower standards of living and poverty during old age is more pronounced among women in eastern Germany, at 49.3%, compared with only 39.4% in western Germany.
Young women invest less
With regard to individual age groups, it is primarily among women aged between 26 and 29 years old that the fear of lower standards of living has soared, namely by 15%. This age group's concerns are not unfounded, given that among 26 to 29-year olds the proportion who do not contribute anything at all towards private pension schemes has increased. Here, compared with 2003, an increase of 5.9% to 21.3% is seen in 2008. It is possible that this age group prefers to spend money on private consumption rather than on pension provisions.
14.1% make no provisions at all
By contrast, the number of women who make no provisions at all for retirement has fallen 4.1% to 14.1%, compared with 2003. Therefore, the majority of women in Germany are not only becoming increasingly aware of the need for additional pension provision but are also doing more and more about it. Almost 30% of all the women surveyed invest 1 to 5% of their income into additional pension plans; in 2003, the figure was close to 6% less. A further 30% of women invest even as much as 6 to 10% of their income into pension plans.
Almost one-quarter relies on state pension
Regarding the question of whom or what women rely upon in matters of private pension provision, the present provision strategy is still very much in the fore at 56.6%. Yet the state pension ranks second with 23.8%, similar to the 21.8% level of five years ago. Amongst women from the new federal states, the level lies at 31.9%; while for those from the old federal states, the figure is 21.9%.
The percentage of women relying on the state pension has risen more sharply, by 4% to 25.1% for young women aged between 26 and 29 years. On this matter, Sabine Peters, pensions expert at Delta Lloyd, says: "Unfortunately, a great number of women still overestimate the extent of the state pension, or simply ignore the problem. Of course, the rising cost of living plays a part here, reducing the available budget. Yet I can only advise young women in particular to begin making even small contributions towards their pension. They can then obtain an additional pension that is sufficient, as they still have many years before them to contribute and can benefit from interest payments."
Higher earners make more provisions
The higher a household's net income, the lower the number of women relying on the state pension. The higher earners are investing increasingly more in additional pension plans. In the upper salary bands of households with a monthly income from €3,000, more than 40% of women currently invest between 6 and 10% of their income into additional pension plans. Five years ago, only around 30% of women on higher incomes invested such sums in pension plans.
-ends-
For further information:
Delta Lloyd Deutschland AG - Press and PR
Martina Fassbender
Wittelsbacherstrasse 1, 65189 Wiesbaden
Telephone: 0611 773 25 71
Fax: 0611 773 14 25 71
E-mail: martina.fassbender@deltalloyd.de
Internet: www.deltalloyd.de
Notes to editors:
Information on the survey
In the course of this survey, which was carried out by opinion research institute TNS Infratest on behalf of financial service provider Delta Lloyd, in July 2008 a total of 1,000 women aged between 18 and 50 years were asked how they assessed their pension requirements for retirement and the extent to which they had already made provisions. Those interviewed represent a cross-section of the female population in Germany. The survey was carried out by computer-aided telephone interviewing based on a structured questionnaire according to the Computer Aided Telephone Interviewing (CATI) method.
About Delta Lloyd:
Delta Lloyd Germany is a 100% owned subsidiary of Delta Lloyd Groep, Amsterdam, and therefore part of the British Aviva Group. The company provides a wide range of financial, investment and provident products from a single source, as well as competent consultancy in all financial affairs. Along with the Delta Lloyd Leben and Hamburger Leben life insurance companies, the Delta Lloyd Group in Germany is made up of a pension fund and a consultancy company for company pension schemes, as well as its own private bank, a property company and a property financing brokerage.