It is a fact: the French are currently experiencing a major crisis, which is characterized by a drop in the standard of living and purchasing power. While the pension reform, adopted and promulgated recently, has made many cringe, the time is now for concern in many homes. It must be said that this extension of the legal retirement age creates an obligation to work more, without eliminating fears of a loss of resources, once retirement has taken place. To remedy this situation, the French began to save. What is the age at which they start choosing savings solutions?
Inflation, loss of income, minimum pension, purchasing power… All these terms are now part of the daily life of the French, worried about the prospect of retirement, where resources would run out. Who says retirement, inevitably says loss of income at a time when wages are struggling to increase and where pensions are stagnating, despite successive revaluations. The French therefore understood that it was time to put in place a new strategy by focusing on savings.
As revealed by the second edition of the “BPCE Assurances barometer of changes in life”, 48% of respondents have already started a process of saving for their retirement. The newspaper Les Echos, as well as 20 Minutes have thus explored this study carried out in 2023 with 2000 people questioned. A way to see the mistrust of the French towards the system put in place by the State.
According to the survey, only 32% of French people say they trust the state to protect them when they retire. The study reveals that 30% of savers are between 18 and 24 years old: a figure that rises to 47% for 25-34 year olds. According to the CEO of BPCE Assurances, François Codet, these data confirm a trend already observed in 2022.
According to him, “the French feel more and more vulnerable [facing a] economic, social and political context [which] seems to weigh heavily on their morale and their ability to take risks and to project themselves”.
In order to look to the future with more serenity, the French decide to use several different methods to save money. While 47% of them say they are building capital, 46% are considering home ownership or an investment in real estate.
In the other cases, 47% use savings, including 32% by regularly contributing to a retirement savings plan. In addition to savings, some French people have, for their part, opted for restrictions with 31% of those questioned who say they are reducing their expenses as of today. Today, 35% expect to join a retirement savings plan (PER), a figure that has increased by 7 points over the past two years.
