Over 45% of Latvian millennials not saving up for old age

RIGA - As many as 45.2 percent of Latvia’s millennials, or people aged roughly between 22 and 35, are not saving up for their old-age pensions, a survey by INVL Asset Management reveals.

At the same time, 32 percent of respondents in this age group said they were saving for pensions but only in the mandatory government-funded first and second-pillar pension plans, and 11.2 percent of the surveyed millennials are saving systematically. Meanwhile, 11.6 percent of respondents said they had not yet thought about the issue.

Of the 500 respondents surveyed in the poll 44.2 percent said they were not planning their personal finances, 31 percent said they planned their finances for a period of up to three months, 12.4 percent said they planned their finances for a period of three to 12 months, and 2.6 percent said they planned their finances for a period of three to five years.

Asked if they would accept a EUR 50 reduction of their monthly income so they could save up for a higher old-age pension, 69 percent of the millennials said they would not accept such an arrangement.

Representatives of INVL Asset Management said that millennials make up 19 percent of Latvia’s total population.

The online survey on millennials’ financial planning habits was conducted in August 2017, interviewing 500 respondents aged 22 to 35.