Pensions: in Italy, only 21 per cent of those with assets of less than 250,000 euros feel prepared on the subject

By 2045, the ratio in Europe will shift from around three workers per pensioner to fewer than two, and the average replacement rate for state pensions in the European Union will fall from 45 per cent to 41 per cent. Among European savers with financial and property assets of less than 250,000 euros, 80 per cent do not consider themselves prepared for retirement; in Italia, this figure stands at just 21 per cent (2 per cent are very well prepared, 19 per cent are fairly well prepared). Even amongst those with more substantial capital, almost half share the same concern.

The findings come from a new study (entitled: “Europe’s Retirement Crisis Is an Opportunity for Insurers and Asset Managers”, carried out by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) through a survey of over 6,000 people in France, Germany, Italia and Spain, supplemented by 61 individual interviews and four focus group sessions.

The data collected suggest that the problem does not lie in people’s propensity to save, but in their access to information. Indeed, the main factor contributing to this low level of awareness is a lack of knowledge about the products on offer. Even within the segment of savers that shows the greatest potential for private pension products, only 54 per cent are aware that such solutions exist, and fewer than 60 per cent of those who are aware actually have a plan. Once informed about the features of the products, the picture changes: 74 per cent of respondents express an interest and, on average, would increase the proportion of their savings allocated to their pension by 10 percentage points.

The gap between latent interest and actual engagement is also evident in the channels chosen to find information. Two-thirds of respondents seek information on pensions independently, through online searches or artificial intelligence, whilst 40 per cent turn to friends and family, preferring these channels to bank, insurance or tax advisers. This trend is most pronounced among the under-35s, the age group that already uses GenAI to research their pensions more than they consult a bank adviser. Among those who say they are dissatisfied with their interactions with an adviser (12 per cent of the sample), the most commonly cited reason is a perceived lack of impartiality, cited by 40 per cent of respondents – a figure significantly higher than that for a lack of clarity in explanations or the feeling of not being listened to.

 In Italy, the supplementary pension sector is currently worth 243 billion euros, divided between 99 billion in individual schemes and 144 billion in workplace schemes, with expected annual growth of 3.8 per cent and 2 per cent respectively until 2035. The Italian pension savings market has not yet undergone a reform comparable to those introduced in France or Germany. Since 2007, there has been a mechanism for automatic enrolment in individual supplementary pension funds through the ‘opt-out’ system, and successive governments have made incremental changes to this scheme rather than introducing structural reforms.