Young Germans losing confidence in state pension system

Trust among young Germans in the state pension system is dwindling, a poll released on Thursday showed. 

In a Forsa survey for credit card provider Visa and the ING bank, only 49% of the 1,003 respondents aged 18 to 30 said they expected to be able to count on money from the state when they are older. A year earlier, the figure was 56%.

Just 5% of respondents in the latest survey, which was conducted in June, said they trusted that the state pension would be sufficient to maintain their standard of living in old age. 

Fear of old-age poverty (79%) is among Generation Z's biggest worries, after rising living costs (90%) and the economic situation in Germany (90%).

Just over half of respondents (53%) said they set money aside for retirement. Four in 10 (41%) are confident that they are already making sufficient provision for old age.

New retirement savings account still largely unknown

Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government has announced a state-supported retirement savings account, intended to allow savers to make private provisions for old age. Capital gains will not be taxed during the saving phase.

While 58% said they had heard of the retirement savings account that is to be introduced in 2027, 41% of that group said they did not know the details. The rest of the respondents said they had not heard of it at all.

Two-thirds of respondents (65%) find the model attractive, while 15% take the opposite view.