Analytics, Banks, Employment, Financial Services, Latvia

A third of respondents in the survey, or 32%, plan to devote time to their hobbies when they grow old, 26% plan to keep working and 24% plan to retire.

According to the Swedbank survey, 39% of respondents representing Generation Z (18-21 years old) plan to stay socially active when they grow old, 27% do not think about old age, 20% plan to be financially independent, 20% plan to keep working and 2% plan to work just for fun.

Among respondents representing the generation of Millennials s (21-34 years old), 38% plan to stay socially active in old age, 30% to keep working just for fun, 23% will work to cover their expenses, 20% do not think about old age, 18% plan to lead a moderate life, 4% hope to be financially independent and 1% gave a different answer.

The survey reveals that 32% of respondents representing Generation X (35-49 years old) think they will have time for social activities, 30% plan to keep working to cover their expenses, 29% will keep working just for fun, 28% will lead a more moderate life, 14 do not think about old age, 4% plan to be financially independent and just as many gave a different answer.

Of the respondents representing the post-war generation (50-64 years old), 37% plan to lead a moderate life when they grow old, 35% plan to keep working just for fun, 27% plan to work to cover their expenses, 16% plan to be socially active, 14% do not think about the age of retirement and 2% gave a different answer but none of them expects to be financially independent.

The survey shows that 36% of respondents believe that the retirement age should between 56 and 61 years, up from 50 to 55 years in the 2017 poll.

More than half of the surveyed people, or 62%, do not know the size of their future pensions, 11% are not informed about the opportunity to learn about their pensions already now, 16% said they did not care and 9% said they would not live to the retirement age.

The survey also shows that 24% of respondents believe in the necessity to save up in third-pillar pension plans, 18% are saving up for old age in a different way and for 10% of respondents, contributions to third-pillar pension plans are being made by their employers. Meanwhile, 27% of respondents said they relied on state pensions and 24% said they would rely in their children and properties.

The survey reveals that 45% of people in Latvia expect to receive at least 75 to 100% of their current wages in pensions and a third expect their pensions to even exceed their current wages, which in absolute figures is EUR 1,000 on average. Meanwhile, the average pension currently paid to the majority of Latvia’s retired population is EUR 320.

The survey was conducted in January 2019 in collaboration with Snapshots, interviewing residents of Latvia aged 18 to 74.

Swedbank is the largest bank in Latvia by assets.