Guillermo de la Dehesa, chairman of the Experts’ Forum of the Aviva Savings and Pensions Institute, and Ignacio Izquierdo, managing director of Aviva España, attended the ninth edition of the summit of Financial Education entitled “Forthcoming challenges: from policy to effective practices”.
- Guillermo de la Dehesa, chairman of the Experts’ Forum of the Aviva Savings and Pensions Institute, inaugurated with a conference the day dedicated to the necessity to combine protection and education in order to support the financial well-being of families.
- Ignacio Izquierdo, managing director of Aviva España, took part in the round table entitled “Improving long-term savings” with the aim of encouraging debate on the possible ways to expand products related to financial forecasting.
Guillermo de la Dehesa, chairman of the Experts’ Forum of the Aviva Savings and Pensions Institute, and Ignacio Izquierdo, managing director of Aviva España, attended the ninth edition of the summit of Financial Education entitled “Forthcoming challenges: from policy to effective practices” organised by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Ministry of Economy and Competition, which brought together experts from all over the world to share their experiences of national strategies for financial education and the protection of citizens in this field.
The summit took place on 10 and 11 May at the Ritz Hotel in Madrid.
Guillermo de la Dehesa was in charge of inaugurating the session, which focussed on promoting the well-being of families through financial education. In his conference he called upon the public authorities to put into practice effective policies that could enhance the understanding of citizens on the most essential aspects of their financial planning and on how to recover their standard of living.
In this sense, he highlighted that: “In spite of the fact that the rate of savings in European stands at 14% of the GNP, which rose due to the recession, the funds allocated to private pensions only reach 8.1% of the Spanish GNP, far below the European average. Given the tensions to which our public pensions system is subject, it is necessary to take measures that may contribute to encouraging long-term private savings.”
On his part, Ignacio Izquierdo, managing director of Aviva, took part in the round table entitled “Improving long-term savings” and focussed his intervention on an analysis of the pensions deficit existing in Europe and the possible ways to offset this loss of purchasing power of the population as they face retirement.
Izquierdo noted that: “According to the study of Aviva, a significant deficit, the deficit of pensions in Europe in 2010 reached some €1.9 million, 19% of the GNP. In the case of Spain, it amounted to €170 billion,” and affirmed that: “If measures are not taken, individuals will have to consider a reduction in their standard of living, either by retiring later or by depending on other forms of savings.
"Although most member States of the European Union offer some kind of information on public pensions, it is necessary for citizens to be able to receive periodical information on the three pillars in order to acquire a more suitable idea of their possible economic situation once they retire.”
The round table, facilitated by Diana Crossan, member of the Commission of Financial Literature and Retirement Incomes of New Zealand, was also attended by Francisco de Blas Cruz, assistant director of Pension Plans and Funds at the Ministry of Economy and Competition, and Sue Lewis of STLC Consultants in the United Kingdom. The summit was also closed by Luis de Guindos Jurado, Minister of Economy and Competition.
Along the same lines as the OECD, the Aviva Savings and Pensions Institute has published various studies and documents related to the necessity to promote financial education and raise awareness of the importance of long-term savings as one approaches retirement.
All of the publications are available on the website Instituto Aviva de Ahorro y Pensiones:
- Generations (PDF 764KB in Spanish): Offers key figures in order to understand the motivations and perspectives on retirement of two age groups: that of young people between 18 and 34 years of age, and that of men and women of over 55 years of age who have not yet retired.
- A significant deficit: In September 2010, Aviva made public a study on the deficit existing between what we need to save for our retirement and what we actually save. Completed in association with Deloitte, it quantifies the difference between what people expect in retirement and the reality that they face if no measures are taken beforehand.
- Forecast bulletins: Periodically, the Aviva Institute will launch a series of bulletins named “forecast bulletins” with a view to compiling news, opinion articles, and market analyses related to the pensions sector.
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For further information:
Beatriz Egido
Email: beatriz.egido@edelman.com
Telephone: +34 91 4184852
Laura Villuendas
Email: laura.villuendas@aviva.es
Telephone: +34 91 297 18 17 / +34 696 576 921
Notes to editors:
The Aviva Savings and Pensions Institute is a research and debate platform created by Aviva, the major European life and pensions insurance group. Its main objective is to promote debate on the problem of sustainable savings and to indicate two key areas of action: to assist people in understanding their financial decisions and to promote collective collaboration in order to change consumer attitudes to long-term savings.
The cornerstone of the Institute comprises an Experts’ Forum consisting of seven professionals and researchers from the world of economy and pensions, chaired by Guillermo de la Dehesa. The activity of the Institute is maintained within three areas of action: the work of research and reflection of the Experts’ Forum, the generation of periodical studies on the subject of pensions and long-term savings, and the development of analysis, assistance and consultancy tools for citizens.