Our participants have told us how much risk they are willing and able to take

In order to conduct this anonymous survey, we invited over 408,000 participants of different ages and from different groups. We approached participants who are accruing a pension with us, who have accrued a pension with us in the past and who are currently receiving a pension. Ultimately, about 6% of the invited participants responded.

The results help us further shape the investment policy

Do we know what the wishes and preferences of our participants are? Once we do, we can determine what investments are most suited. Naturally, every participant wants the highest possible return on investment (result) and the lowest possible risk. But you can't have both at the same time, because risk and return are interrelated. That's why we asked, among other things:

• • How much risk are you willing to take?
• Does your expected pension match what you think you need as a minimum?
• To what extent can you absorb financial setbacks?

The main insights

• The age of the participant determines how much risk he or she is willing to take. The younger the participant, the more risk he or she is willing to take. On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 = low risk, 10 = high risk), a young person scores 6.8, whereas an older person scores 3.3.
  
  
• Other characteristics of participants proved to be less decisive for the risk he or she is willing or able to bear. These included characteristics such as income, gender, marital status or the sector in which a participant works. For example, men are willing to take slightly more risks than women. On a scale of 1 to 10, men score 4.7 and women 4.1.
  
  
• We asked our participants how much pension they need as a minimum. We then checked whether this matched the expected pension. This shows that, on average, the final net pension is higher than the pension participants think they need.
  
  
• A large part of all participants (66%) is okay with their future monthly pension fluctuating with the economy and the returns on investments. A total of 12% does not want this and 22% does not know.
  
  
• A total 19% of pensioners prefer a completely stable pension that does not fluctuate. A total of 62% accepts pensions fluctuating somewhat with the economy and investment returns. A total of 19% doesn't know.
  
  
• We also asked how much risk a participant is able to bear. A total of 18% of participants indicate that they are unable to absorb a 10% drop in their pension. The older the participant, the higher this percentage. Among pensioned participants, a total of 29% cannot absorb such a setback. Among young people under 30 this is 5%.

What's next?

We use these results to better align our investments with the wishes and preferences of our participants. For example, we will take slightly more risk in our investment portfolio for young people and slightly less for older people, in order to achieve the highest possible expected pension.

Please take a look at the fact sheet for a summary of the main results.