Young Europeans Pay Into Pension Schemes They Distrust

A new survey by Friends of Europe reveals that nearly half of young Europeans are paying into pension schemes they do not trust, with only 17% believing their future pensions will be sufficient while 43% expect them to fall short. The Voices for Choices 2026 report, which surveyed 2,000 Europeans aged 18 to 35 across Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Spain, found that 30% of respondents have only limited knowledge of how the pension system functions, with young Danes and French respondents showing the least understanding at 34% and 33% respectively. Despite these concerns, 45% of respondents support reforms that avoid unpopular measures, while 40% believe reform should proceed regardless of difficult political choices. Meanwhile, a separate Aviva survey of 2,000 UK adults found that fewer than half (44%) describe themselves as confident investors, with a significant gender gap showing 57% of men compared to just 31% of women reporting investment confidence. The European pension survey highlights significant regional disparities in both knowledge and expectations regarding retirement systems. Italians and Spaniards reported the strongest understanding of their pension systems, while nearly 80% of elderly incomes in Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, and Luxembourg come from public transfers. Young people in Denmark and Italy anticipate the longest working lives before retirement, with most respondents from Spain, Italy, Germany, Poland, and France believing their current pension systems are broken and require reform. One French respondent captured the generational frustration, stating: "My biggest concern about pensions is that the pension system no longer works for my generation and those after us. That we have to pay the price for poor political and economic choices." The UK investment confidence survey, conducted by Censuswide in April, found that 61% of respondents believe some people are "born investors" rather than learning the skill over time, and 42% would change their past investment management decisions if given the chance. Nearly a third (32%) of investors only entered the market later in life driven by personal interest, though two-thirds (66%) expressed a desire to build their confidence. Interest in developing investment confidence peaked among 18 to 24-year-olds at 87%, compared to 44% among those aged 55 and over. Alistair McQueen, head of savings and retirement at Aviva, emphasized that investing confidence is learned over time rather than innate, recommending that new investors start small, keep investments diversified, and maintain a long-term perspective of five years or more.