80% of working-age adults consider “capitalization” savings to be necessary

While the first half of 2023 was marked by debates over retirement and on the eve of the reform’s implementation, the fifth “Barometer of Savings in France and the Regions,” conducted by Ifop for Altaprofits, an online wealth management consulting firm, highlights the strong interest among working-age adults in “capitalization-based” savings. 

84% of working adults believe it is necessary to save on their own to build up additional income for retirement to supplement their pension. In fact, 43% consider this savings effort to be “absolutely” necessary—that is, more than 4 out of 10 working adults.

While 7% of those interviewed did not express an opinion on this question, the results show that fewer than one in 10 working adults (9%) are not convinced of the need to save for retirement on their own.

The intention among French people to open a Retirement Savings Plan (PER) has risen significantly over the past three years. Thirty-seven percent of French respondents say they intend to open a PER (up 2 percentage points in 2023 compared to 2022), while 28 percent expressed this intention in 2021 (up 9 percentage points over three years).

This 2023 survey confirms the generational trend observed in the previous two years, in which younger people are convinced of the need to build up a supplementary income for retirement on their own. 60% of those under 35 intend to open a PER to receive a lifetime annuity (income paid until the end of their lives) or a lump-sum payment (receiving their investment in one or more installments) upon retirement (+23 percentage points higher than the overall French population and a 20-point jump in intentions over three years; the figure was 40% in 2021).

Only 29% of those aged 35 and older fall into this category (down 8 percentage points compared to the French population as a whole, but up 6 percentage points over the past 3 years; 23% in 2021).

According to the study, workers in Brittany (91%), Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (89%), Centre-Val de Loire (89%), Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Corsica (89%), and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (88%) are overrepresented among those who are convinced of the need for “capitalization” savings.

Residents of the Grand Est region are more likely to consider opening a PER (41%), while those in the Pays de la Loire region are among the least likely to do so (29%).