Confidence among young adults regarding the state pension continues to decline. A survey conducted by the polling institute Forsa, commissioned by ING Germany and Visa and reported by the news portal T-Online, found that only 49 percent of those aged 18 to 30 in Germany now expect to receive a state pension later in life. This figure is a decrease from 56 percent in the previous year.
Despite this lack of faith in the state system, a significant majority-79 percent of respondents-are concerned about their retirement provision and fear they will not be financially secure in their old age. Nevertheless, many young adults are already building private savings. The survey indicates that more than half of those questioned are preparing for their retirement privately.
Data anonymized by ING also provides insights into current market behavior: forty-seven percent of young ING account holders regularly contribute to stock saving plans, averaging 365 euros per month. This is an increase from 351 euros in the previous year. Central to this trend are ETFs; the bank reports that 90 percent of these contributions flow into exchange-traded index funds. This ING data is derived from evaluating approximately 1.1 million young customers between January and June 2026.
Additionally, the retirement provision account planned for January 2027 is attracting interest from many young people. According to the survey, 65 percent of people aged 18 to 30 consider such an account attractive. However, this model is still not widely known across all demographics. There is a noticeable difference between genders: only about one in two young women are familiar with the retirement provision account, while 66 percent of young men are.
