Poland Country Report A Retirement Wake-Up Call The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2016
Contents Introduction 3 Key Findings 4 The 2016 Survey: Part 1 The state of retirement readiness: 2012 to 2016 5 Part 2 Retirement readiness is a shared responsibility and it requires a shared solution 8 Part 3 Habitual saving is critical for success 9 Part 4 Making it easy and more convenient to save 11 Part 5 The imperative for retirement literacy and planning 14 Part 6 It s personal: Making the case for the new flexible retirement 15 Part 7 The promise of active living and healthy aging 16 Recommendations 17 2 The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2016
Introduction Now in its fifth year, the Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey explores how increasing life expectancy is impacting the ways in which individuals plan for retirement. Countries around the world are facing unprecedented change, creating both challenges and opportunities. The concept of retirement is evolving; life expectancy continues to increase; pressures on governments and pension systems are intensifying; and, greater responsibility is shifting to the individual. People are having difficulty keeping up with this rapid pace of change. Too few are adequately saving and planning for retirement. Most need greater access to financial advice and planning tools in order to navigate the future and improve their retirement outlook. Moreover, people s expectations of how they will transition to retirement may be unrealistic unless employment practices change. The conclusion is that Poles need a retirement wake-up call. Solving the retirement challenge must be recognized as a shared responsibility. It requires engaging all stakeholders governments, pensions industry, employers, and individuals to actively take responsibility, and create a dialogue for an inclusive retirement, and implement solutions so that everyone has the opportunity to achieve long term financial security. Our research findings show that while Polish workers have made slight progress since 2012 in some of their retirement saving behavior, they are still lagging behind in retirement preparedness that is essential to enjoying a comfortable, secure life in retirement.. This report evaluates the current state of retirement readiness in Poland and delineates key areas warranting focus and attention, including the need for: sharing the responsibility for retirement preparation, inspiring habitual saving, making retirement plans more inclusive by design, facilitating the new flexible retirement, and promoting active living and healthy aging in retirement. The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2016 3
Key Findings Poland ranks joint eleventh in the 2016 Aegon Retirement Readiness Index. With a score of 5.3 out of 10, Poland has a low level of retirement readiness, lower than the 2016 global ARRI of 5.8. But there has been a sliver of improvement. Poland s ARRI has increased slightly since 2012, the first year Poland participated in this research, from 5.0 up to 5.3 in 2016. The proportion of Poles that feel personally responsible for making sure that they have sufficient income in their retirement has dropped since 2012. Awareness for the need to plan financially for retirement has not changed since 2012. Most Poles know that they need to take on responsibility for ensuring that they will have sufficient retirement income but the proportion has been in decline since 2012. Awareness of the need to plan financially for retirement has remained stable while the proportion that say they are able to understand financial matters when it comes to planning their retirement has increased by 4 percentage points. Encouragingly, two behavioral measures -retirement planning and financial preparedness- have increased since 2012 while income replacement has decreased slightly. The proportion of Poles with a well-developed retirement plan and the proportion who feel that they are saving enough for retirement have both increased since 2012 (by 8 percentage points and 7 percentage points respectively). At the same time the proportion that expect to achieve 75 percent or more of their needed income in retirement has fallen by 4 percentage points. Most Poles agree that the responsibility for funding their retirement income should fall on the government -through Social Security and through the government encouraging employers to automatically enroll all their employees into a retirement plan. Far fewer Poles agree that funding should come from workers. Poles agree that the government should provide for them via social security, and by encouraging auto enrollment among employers in a retirement plan for workers. Poles are also largely in agreement that employers should provide through retirement plan benefits. Polish workers and retirees anticipate that their government will fund the majority of their income in retirement. Poles will be largely dependent on government funding, estimating that it will provide 55 percent of their annual income in retirement. Very little income will come from employer or workplace plans but they will have to supplement more from their own personal savings. Few Poles are savers-either habitual or occasional savers. Just under half (48 percent) of Poles are savers- 27 percent save habitually and 21 percent save only occasionally. The proportion of habitual savers in Poland is significantly lower than the global average (38 percent). More positively, habitual saving has increased steadily in Poland from 22 percent in 2012, to a high of 27 percent in 2016. Auto enrollment has a low level of appeal among Poles. Just over half (52 percent) of Polish workers find auto enrollment appealing at a six percent deferral rate compared to 65 percent globally. At an 8 percent deferral rate 50 percent of Poles find it appealing compared to 61 percent globally. Most Poles expect the government to provide their retirement funding and are adverse to money being automatically taken out of their wages. Polish employers are not offering workers the opportunity or the tools to manage their retirement plans themselves, most specifically through digital access. Few Polish workers report having access to digital tools of any type to help them prepare for retirement or to shape and manage their retirement accounts. In fact two-in-five workers claim that their employers provide no services to help them prepare for retirement. There has been no significant increase in the proportion of workers with a retirement strategy, written or not written, since 2013. Two-in-five Polish workers have a retirement strategy, but just 4 percent have a written plan, 2 percentage points lower than in previous years. Compared with global responses, Poles fall well behind in both written as well as non-written retirement strategy planning. Only a quarter of Poles have a backup plan in case they become unable to work and have to leave work earlier than planned. Most Poles with backup plans will use their personal savings, their spouse or partner s income, or will downsize or sell a second home to support themselves. Half (53 percent) of Polish workers say that they will continue working in some capacity into retirement. Almost half (48 percent) will work to keep active or to keep their brain alert. Others will do so for financial concerns for example 42 percent are concerned that Social Security benefits may provide less income than expected, and 40 percent are concerned their retirement plan benefits may provide less income than expected. Forty percent say they will continue to work due to general anxieties about whether their savings or income will last through retirement. 4 The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2016
Part 1: The state of retirement readiness: 2012 to 2016 The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey is now in its fifth year. A cornerstone of the research is the Aegon Retirement Readiness Index (ARRI), which was created in 2012 to assess the relative levels of retirement preparedness across all countries included in the survey. Individuals are grouped according to whether they achieve a high index score (eight or above out of 10), a medium score (between six and 7.99) or a low score (below six). With a score of 5.3 this year, Poland ranks joint eleventh in retirement preparedness out of the 15 countries surveyed. Chart 1 Poland places joint eleventh in the 2016 Aegon Retirement Readiness Index 5.8 4.7 5.0 5.0 5.3 5.3 5.4 5.6 5.8 5.9 6.0 6.1 6.1 6.7 6.7 7.3 Total Japan Spain Hungary Poland France Turkey The Netherlands Australia Canada China United Kingdom Germany United States Brazil India Poland has made strides over the past twenty five years in fostering economic growth. However despite these gains Poland still has many issues to face. The population is rapidly aging and inequality is growing. Poland, as with many other countries, must prepare for a higher proportion of the population entering the retirement system. But while Poland ranks among the lowest on the ARRI, it is encouraging to see that there has been an upward trend in their score since 2012- a small, yet consistent increase. The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2016 5
Chart 2 Poland s 5-Year trend: Aegon Retirement Readiness Index 5.0 4.6 5.1 5.2 5.3 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Aegon Retirement Readiness Index Components The ARRI is based on responses to six survey questions, three broadly attitudinal and three broadly behavioral in nature. Since 2012 we have seen varying degrees of change across all measures of attitude and behavior. In 2013, all measures dipped from the previous year but then trended up the following year. Levels of personally responsibility have been in decline since 2014 and are now five percentage points below where they were in 2012. Poles are clearly feeling less and less responsible for their retirement income future. Awareness has changed the least over time, now slightly higher than in 2012. Of the attitudinal measures financial understanding has changed the most, increasing 4 percentage points since 2012. Most encouraging are the changes in behavior. Retirement planning as well as financial preparedness have been heading upward noticeably since 2012. Yet even with more planning and saving, Poles appear to be less confident that they will be able to achieve 75 percent or more of their needed retirement income, which is down from the 2012 level. Chart 3 What factors shape the ARRI findings? Income replacement Personal responsibility Do you think you will achieve the level of income you think you will need in retirement? 6 1 To what extent do you feel personally responsible for making sure that you will have sufficient income in retirement? Financial preparedness Thinking about how much you are putting aside to fund your retirement, are you saving enough? 5 2 Level of awareness How would you rate your level of awareness on the need to plan financially for your retirement? Retirement planning 4 3 Financial understanding Thinking about your own personal retirement planning How able are you to understand financial matters process, how well developed would you say that your when it comes to planning for your retirement? personal retirement plans currently are? 6 The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2016
Chart 4 Poland 5-Year Trend: ARRI Components The six index questions are answered on a five-point scale. Bars show the proportion of top two option (4 and 5) responses between 2012 and 2016. For the first five questions from top to bottom, workers were asked to rate their level of agreement with a statement, e.g., To what extent do you feel personally responsible for making sure that you have sufficient income in retirement? From code 1 I don t feel responsible at all through to code 5 I feel very responsible. Bars represent top-two options (4 and 5), for example, that workers feel somewhat or very responsible. For the sixth question, income replacement, workers were asked what proportion of their current income they expect to need in retirement, followed by Do you think you will achieve this income? This is answered on a scale from code 1 I don t know if I am on course to achieve my retirement income through to code 5 Yes I am on course to achieve my retirement income. The bars represent top-two options (4 and 5), that they are on course to achieve at least 75% of their needed retirement income. 1 Personal responsibility 2016 65% 2015 2014 2013 58% 2012 66% 68% 70% 2 Level of awareness 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 56% 63% 64% 65% 62% 3 Financial understanding 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 59% 61% 59% 52% 55% 4 Retirement planning 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 20% 22% 28% 30% 32% 5 Financial preparedness 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 24% 22% 22% 16% 18% 6 Income replacement 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 24% 25% 25% 25% 28% The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2016 7
Part 2 - Retirement readiness is a shared responsibility and it requires a shared solution With increased longevity, retirement is lasting longer and people are enjoying more time after their working life. Funding this longer retirement rests on three pillars - Firstly governments must provide appropriate vehicles to invest in and guidance on how to do so. Secondly, employers must engage with employees on planning their retirement as well as offering comprehensive retirement plans and contributing their part financially. Finally personal responsibility individuals must put aside and invest a sufficient proportion of their salary. And they must start saving early in their working career to establish a retirement pot full enough to allow them to live comfortably in retirement. The majority of Poles agree that the responsibility for funding people s retirement should rest on the shoulders of the government. Seventy-nine percent of Poles agree that the government should provide for people through Social Security (compared to 75 percent globally). Seventy-four percent of Poles agree that the government should encourage employers to automatically enrol all of their employees into a retirement plan which is on par with the global average (75 percent). Just over half (52 percent) agree that individuals should save for themselves, considerably lower than the global average (62 percent). Only 35 percent of Poles feel that their Social Security system is able to provide a pension that they will be able to live comfortably on in retirement. With that said, Poles are not taking action to grow their retirement pots. In addition to social security and workplace retirement plans, only 31 percent have extraneous private retirement savings plans that they either currently or occasionally put money into. And hardly any (14 percent) show interest in a potential retirement product that would offer additional private pension for the remainder or their life, in exchange for a lump sum pay out.. Chart 5 Polish attitudes on how to fund retirement The government should provide for people through Social Security Governments should encourage employers to automatically enrol all their employees into a retirement plan Employers should provide through retirement plan benefits It should be a balanced approach in which individuals, employers and the government all play an equal role 79% 74% 69% 66% Individuals should save for themselves through private pensions / other investments 52% % that somewhat and strongly agree Poles expect the government to fund more than half of their retirement income, significantly higher than the global average. Poles do not expect much from their employer s plans, which will contribute much less of their overall retirement income and noticeably less than the global average, but that more income will come from their personal savings and investments. 8 The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2016
Chart 6 Proportion of retirement income by three broad sources 30% 24% 46% 25% 19% 55% Your own savings & investments, including IRAs Your employer / previous employers (through workplace retirement plans) The government (through social security & other government benefits) Total Poland Given that the sustainability of the government retirement systems around the world are under strain as a result of the growing aging population and of longer life expectancy, all social partners need to take a more balanced, and realistic approach in which governments, employers and individuals are working together to fund retirement. Part 3 Habitual saving is critical for success The importance of habitual saving cannot be stressed enough. People who save habitually are in a better position in planning for their retirement, feel more responsible, and have a better understanding of what retirement will mean for them financially. Discouragingly, the proportion of Poles who save habitually is only just over a quarter (27 percent) of the working population, which is way below the global average (38 percent). Chart 7 Approach to saving for retirement Global 6% 21% 12% 23% 38% HABITUAL SAVERS - I always make sure that I am saving enough for retirement OCCASIONAL SAVERS - I only save for retirement occassionally from time to time PAST SAVERS - I am not saving for retirement now, although I have in the past Poland 11% 29% 12% 21% 27% ASPIRING SAVERS - I am not saving for retirement though I do intend to NON SAVERS - I have never saved for retirement and I don t intend to The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2016 9
Encouragingly, the proportion of Poles who are habitual savers has grown steadily since 2012. Chart 8 Poland s Habitual Savers: 5-Year trend 22% 24% 24% 26% 27% 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Triggers that start workers savings for retirement can be put into two broad categories. First, major lifestage changes can be just what s needed to energize workers to focus more on retirement. Second, encouragement from employers can also be a great influence for individuals to take that step to start saving for retirement. Half (50 percent) of those who are saving or intending to save for retirement were prompted to save by a lifestage change many prompted by turning a certain age (39 percent) and a third (33 percent) were encouraged by an employment-related change. Chart 9 What prompted retirement saving among savers and intenders NET: Life stage reasons 50% I turned a certain age 39% I started a family 16% I got married 9% I got separated / divorced 4% NET: Employment-related reasons 33% My employer started paying into a retirement plan / pension for me I was automatically enrolled into my employer s retirement plan / pension I started a new (not first) job I started my first job My employer offered a matching contribution to its retirement plan / pension 9% 9% 9% 7% 14% 10 The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2016
Part 4 Making it easy and more convenient to save Workplace retirement plans can provide an impetus to start saving for retirement. Automatic enrollment into a workplace retirement plan, whereby workers are automatically enrolled and a set proportion of their salary is invested into a retirement plan, has wide appeal globally. Yet in Poland, auto-enrollment does not hold the same level of appeal. At a 6 percent deferral rate 52 percent of Polish workers find auto enrolment appealing compared to 65 percent globally. While at an 8 percent deferral rate 50 percent of Polish workers find auto enrolment appealing compared to 61 percent globally. There are certain demographic groups in the population- part time workers, lower income earners, less educated- who are more vulnerable to not achieving retirement readiness but who would particularly benefit from more structured arrangement in terms of enrollment in workplace retirement plans. But these groups in Poland find auto enrollment less attractive. Part-time workers, for example, are less likely to find auto enrolment appealing- 47 percent at six percent of annual salary, even less, 45 percent at eight percent of their annual salary - their salary may be so low that this could place a heavy burden on their overall finances. Chart 10 The appeal of auto-enrollment Global 61% 65% Very or Somewhat appealing at 6% of annual salary Very or Somewhat appealing at 8% of annual salary Poland 52% 50% The role of workplace retirement plans The workplace is a primary channel for encouraging retirement savings, yet just less than a quarter (23 percent) of all Polish workers feel their employers provide enough information and support to help with their retirement planning. Employers fall short in Poland in providing services to help workers prepare for retirement. Only 16 percent receive annual retirement plan statements. This drops to 10 percent or below for any other services that are offered. In fact two-in-five (40 percent) Polish workers say that their employer provides no services at all. Easy access to clear and concise information is a key component to staying engaged with one s savings and investments- particularly those that are intended to be used in retirement, which is decades away for most savers. It is unimaginable that in this digital age, that so few Polish workers have access to online tools to help them with retirement planning for example, only 8 percent have digital access to view and manage their retirement savings, and only 7 percent have access to online retirement modelling tools. The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2016 11
Chart 11 Very few Polish workers are offered digital tools to help them prepare for retirement Retirement Percentage of workers offered this service Percentage who find the service very / extremely helpful (among those offered) Online retirement modeling tools 8% 61% Digital access to view / manage retirement savings 7% 42% Webcast meetings/seminars about pensions/saving for retirement 5% (low base size) Company-sponsored blogs and/or online network groups 4% (low base size) Employers offer a wide range of benefits to attract and retain workers. Paid time off and medical health insurance are among the most popular. Moreover, as the workforce grows older the demand for flexibility around retirement age is likely to increase. Currently, only 38 percent of Polish workers are offered the possibility to work past normal retirement age and even fewer (26 percent) are offered a phased retirement or other employer programs providing for a transition into retirement. 12 The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2016
Chart 12 Workplace benefits provided to Polish workers Percentage of workers offered this service Basic salary 87% Vacation/ paid time off 86% Medical health insurance 76% Convenient location of workplace 74% Life insurance 58% Overtime and bonus pay 55% Opportunities for career progression 46% Flexible working hours 44% Access to good training provision 40% Ability to work past the normal retirement age 38% Phased retirement or other employer programs providing for a transition into retirement 26% Retirement plan with employer contributions 20% Retirement plan without employer contributions 18% When asked what financial means workers are currently using to prepare for retirement the majority said that they are using a defined benefit scheme (80 percent), a three percent decrease from 2015 - mostly in a company-funded defined benefit pension plan (72 percent), and less often a career average pension (38 percent). Three-in-ten (31 percent) use a simple savings account. The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2016 13
Part 5 The imperative for retirement literacy and planning A written retirement strategy is not merely a stack of handwritten notes but is often an outcome of a process where future retirees have taken the time to consider what their post working life can look like and how they can fund that. Two-in-five Polish workers have a retirement strategy, but hardly any (4 percent) have a written plan. While there has been an improvement in non-written plans since 2013, written plans have seen a drop. When compared with global responses, Poles fall well below in both written and non-written retirements strategy planning. Chart 13 Polish Workers with a Retirement Strategy 30% 32% 34% 35% 45% Written plan Non written plan 13% 6% 6% 6% 4% 2013 2014 2015 2016 2016 Global Vulnerable groups, such as people who work part-time, lower income earners and those with less educated, are less likely to have had the opportunity to formulate a strategy to prepare financially for retirement - written as well as one that is not written. For example, only 29 percent of women and 32 percent of part-time workers have taken that a step toward a more financially secure retirement by setting up a retirement strategy. This should be an alert to the Polish government and all Polish employers to immediately address their shortcomings in encouraging workers to prepare now for a comfortable retirement. Chart 14 Non-savers are the least likely to have a retirement strategy, written or not written Total Women Young (age 20-29) Work part-time Low income (personal) Low education (less than undergrad degree) Aspiring savers Nonsavers I have a written plan 4% 3% 6% 1% 4% 4% 2% 1% I have a plan, but it is not written down 35% 26% 33% 31% 32% 29% 19% 5% I do not have a plan 55% 64% 57% 62% 58% 59% 74% 81% Don t know 6% 7% 4% 6% 6% 8% 5% 13% 14 The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2016
Three -in-five (60 percent) Polish workers say they do not have a backup plan to provide them with an income should they be unable to continue working before reaching their planned retirement age. Most (47 percent) of those who have a backup plan will use their savings if they are unable to continue working. A quarter (25 percent) will really on their spouse s income to pull them through and 21 percent will downsize their home or sell their second home. Chart 15 Only a quarter of Polish workers have a backup plan Chart 16 Their backup plan includes Yes No Don t know 15% My savings 47% 25% My spouse/partner working 25% 60% Downsizing my home / selling a second home 21% Part 6 It s personal: Making the case for the new flexible retirement Increased longevity may result in individuals needing to work longer in order to adequately fund retirement. Working longer can also promote active living and healthy aging. Just over half (53 percent) of Polish workers will continue working in some capacity into their retirement years. Many of those who will continue working into retirement will change the way they work perhaps shifting from full-time to part-time work until they give up working altogether. Others will change the way they work but will continue working throughout retirement. However, employers are falling short in accommodating workers in extending working lives and transitioning into retirement. Only 38 percent are offered the ability to work past the normal retirement age and only a quarter (26 percent) are offered phased retirement. Those Poles who plan to work into retirement will do so mostly out of personal choice. Just under half (48 percent) want to keep active/keep their brain alert. Others will do so because they have financial concerns for example that Social Security benefits will be less than expected (42 percent) or that their retirement plan benefits will be less than expected (40 percent). Forty percent will continue to work because they have more general anxieties about their retirement income and whether their savings will last. The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2016 15
Chart 17 Working into retirement will be the norm Other / Don t know I will keep working as I currently do. Retirement age won t make a difference to the way I work 8% 11% 36% I will immediately stop working altogether and enter full retirement I will change the way I work (e.g. working part-time or on temporary contracts) and I will continue paid work throughout retirement in some capacity 18% 27% I will change the way I work (e.g. working part-time or on temporary contracts) but only for a while before eventually give up paid work altogeth Part 7 The promise of active living and healthy aging Maintaining one s health longer opens up opportunities to stay active and engaged, travel, and enjoy things considered to be important in one s retirement years. But only 36 percent of Polish workers are very or somewhat optimistic that they will maintain good health in their retirement years. This is unusual since three-in-five (63 percent) consider themselves currently in good health and three-quarters of working Poles are now offered medical health coverage from their employers, a good start for promoting good health into retirement years. Chart 18 When thinking about their retirement, only a minority of Poles are optimistic about maintaining good health Don t know Very pessimistic 9% 4% 6% Very optimistic 30% Somewhat optimistic Somewhat pessimistic 29% 22% Neither pessimistic nor optimistic With an increase in life expectancies, there is a need for many to extend their working lives and retire at an older age. Doing so can help bridge retirement savings and income needs. It s also an opportunity to stay involved and enjoy more years filled with active living and healthy aging. 16 The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2016
Recommendations The world is ready for its retirement wake-up call. The fifth annual Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey finds only very slight improvement or progress in Poland s retirement preparedness since 2012. Polish workers are simply not prepared for retirement and are far behind the global average in retirement preparedness. The government as well as employers need to be nudged into preparing their workers with the proper tools and comprehensive and affordable retirement plans. Around the world, many workers expect to rely heavily on government benefits and are not saving enough to adequately fund their retirement income needs. The reality is that people are living longer than ever before, yet inadequate attention is being given to address the costs and implications associated with increased longevity. Governments, employers, and individuals must continue to expand upon actions that have proven effective while innovating new solutions for the future. 1. Employers should be encouraged to set up employer retirement savings plans. Policymakers should work to increase incentives to employers, remove barriers to setting up plans, and opening them to all workers. Workers should be encouraged to save on a consistent basis through payroll deduction. Incentives to participate, such as employer or government matching contributions, will help draw attention to the benefits of deferring a portion of salary into an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Incentives, however, may not by themselves be enough to change behavior. Employers should provide for workers to be automatically enrolled into a workplace plan. Automatic enrollment is an effective nudge to start workers on a consistent long term savings program. 2. Employers and workers should agree on triggers for automatic increased savings by payroll deduction (auto-escalation). Depending on when a worker started saving consistently and how long they have before retirement, the automatic enrollment default rate may not be adequate to provide sufficient retirement income. Increases in the amount people save can be made automatically at predetermined times, such as pay raises, or upon attaining a certain age. 3. Employers and governments should continue to promote financial literacy and raise awareness, not only of the need to save for retirement, but also how to invest long term savings, and the benefits of working longer. Work to educate workers to build their confidence in their retirement planning decision-making. Governments should consider engaging family and friends in their campaigns to help increase awareness of the benefits of establishing a retirement savings strategy, especially for those not covered by an employer-sponsored retirement plan. No age is too young or old to start. Parents can instill good savings habits in their children by teaching them how to budget and invest. Parents and adult children can begin to discuss topics that are typically sensitive, such as getting one s legal affairs in order, inheritance, caregiving, and other financial matters. 4. Individuals should create a retirement strategy to fund retirement and manage their retirement savings to last a lifetime. A retirement strategy should be tailored to the individual s plans for retirement (e.g. travel, continued working, etc.), other possible sources of income in retirement, and the individual s health. Individuals should take advantage of any professional financial advice or other tools in modeling their retirement. Online tools and robo advice can help individuals assess the amount they will need to save and how to invest their savings. 5. The retirement plan or strategy should help people to manage retirement savings to last a lifetime. Building up adequate retirement savings is one half of the solution. Individuals should also plan to manage their retirement savings during the decumulation phase to provide them an income for life that includes possible pension income and government benefits. Lifetime income can be achieved through a guaranteed lifetime income product (annuity) or through a combination of other solutions and/or products, without any guarantees. 6. Individual retirement strategies should also include a backup plan to enable the individuals to pay for unexpected expenses and events. A wide range of insurance products including life, income or critical illness policies, for example, can provide a costeffective way of helping individuals and their families in the event employment ends prior to expected retirement date because of an illness, disability or death. The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2016 17
7. Governments and employers should encourage individuals to work longer or, at a minimum, facilitate their working past normal retirement age. As many individuals and employers tie retirement age to the date of receipt of government retirement benefits, any increase in the age of entitlement (when people can draw on their social security pension) would likely influence a change in behavior and encourage individuals to work longer. Employers can also facilitate workers remaining in the workforce past their normal retirement date by developing age-friendly workplaces and by implementing phased and flexible retirement options (e.g., flexible work arrangements, reducing hours, working in a different capacity). Employers are encouraged to consider the benefits of retaining older workers in the workforce, such as the experience they bring, their loyalty and understanding of the business. Employers and governments should facilitate continued training to enable individuals to maintain skills to perform their job. Individuals should take advantage of training and phased retirement programs and consider the benefits of remaining in the workplace (e.g., maintaining an active mind and body, fulfillment, community, increased income). 8. Finally, as individuals consider their preparedness for retirement, actions to keep healthy and active can increase their confidence in their retirement security and their ability to work longer. Employers should be encouraged to promote greater vitality through wellness programs in the workplace and governments and employers should consider incentives for healthy and active lifestyles. Disclaimer This report contains general information only and does not constitute a solicitation or offer. No rights can be derived from this report. Aegon, its partners and any of their affiliates or employees do not guarantee, warrant or represent the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in the report. 18 The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2016
Contact information Headquarters Aegon N.V. Strategy & Sustainability Mike Mansfield Manager Retirement Studies Telephone: +31 70 344 82 64 Email: mike.mansfield@aegon.com aegon.com/thecenter Media relations Telephone: +31 70 344 83 44 Email: gcc@aegon.com The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2016 19
20 The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2016