GERMANY - Germans have continued to save for their retirement during the crisis and faith in the state pension has only increased slightly, suggests a regular study conducted by JP Morgan Asset Managementd.

The German arm of the firm presented a bi-annual survey of 1,900 Germans which suggested "The financial crisis has not damage the trust in long-term investments".

At least 40.6% of those said they save privately for their retirement, compared to 42.6% in November 2008. (See earlier IPE story: Germans claim to believe in long-term profit) 

Approximately 39.5% also said they did not save for their retirement - slightly down from 40.3%.

In its analysis, JP Morgan said that there was evidence of no panic among savers and retirement funds were not being emptied, despite the uncertainties on the stock markets.

However, the asset manager noted there were regional differences in Germany, with some people saving more in the crisis and others reducing their long-term savings.

Of those people who said they did not save, 7.1% claimed to completely trust the state pension would deliver what they need in retirement - one percentage point more than in November - and 6.4% (compared to 6.1% six months ago) stated they believed enough in a combination of state and occupational pension that they felt there was no further need to save for themselves.

Most of those who do save for their retirement put aside between €1 and €49 per month (7.4%), while 8% save between €50 and €99 and 7.1% are using the money to pay off a motgage.

Elsewhere, the German association for the investment industry, BVI, said interest in Riester funds was unbroken and argued that the investment industry is continuing to grow its share in this market of state-subsidised investment vehicles.

The investment industry has increased its share in the Riester market from 7.5% to 20% over the last four years.

Topics