EUROPE - More and more people see the responsibility to provide guaranteed retirement income with the employer, AXA insurance found in its latest pension barometer.

A state pension will not be enough to live on at retirement Europeans agree, and while the number of those who think they themselves have to take care of a supplementary pension, those thinking the burden should be on their employer has increased considerably more.

Asked whether the employer should be responsible for retirement income, the number of French answering 'oui' is up 15 percentage points to 73%, while in Germany it is 14 percentage points more (58%) and 10 in Belgium to 71% compared with the 2006 barometer.

Answering the same question on the role of the individual, the number of French agreeing remains constant at 68%, while in Germany 79% said it was the individual's responsibility and in Belgium the score rose 6 percentage points to 72%.

The average regarding the role of the employer among a sample of six European states grew less drastically by 6 percentage points, in part because those questioned in Britain decreased their expectations in the employer providing a pension from 68% to 61%.

In Spain and Italy the numbers grew by 5 percentage points each reaching 48% and 36% respectively.

On average, 65% of the interviewed Europeans believe each individual is responsible for their own retirement income.

These figures are part of a larger telephone survey conducted for AXA in 26 countries worldwide, in which the insurer surveyed retirement habits as well as people's expectations.

In Belgium, Germany and the UK over 70% of the interviewees said they are already saving for retirement themselves, having started at around the age of 30.

In France, only 50% are making additional retirement savings while in Italy and Spain that number is even lower at 38% and 30% respectively.

The research also showed between 70 and 80% of people in Central Europe prefer retirement products with guarantees over higher return products.

If you have any comments you would like to add to this or any other story, contact Julie Henderson on + 44 (0)20 7261 4602 or email julie.henderson@ipe.com

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