The Changing Face of Retirement: The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2012

The Changing Face of Retirement: The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2012 aims to better understand prevailing attitudes about retirement planning and personal expectations among the current working generation within eight European countries, as well as the United States.

An objective of the research is to contribute to a common understanding of the changing face of retirement and the measures necessary to accommodate demographic and socio-economic trends. Although the survey findings confirm the view that concerted and immediate action is required in order to address the general lack of retirement readiness, the good news is that people more than ever recognize the essential role they play personally in their retirement security. This realization became even more clear with the financial crisis that began in 2008 and the subsequent market turmoil that resulted in severely depressed retirement savings.

The research report outlines a series of recommendations for policymakers, industry, employers, and individuals to improve financial security in their respective countries. 

The research report is based on a 2012 global retirement survey of 9,000 workers and retirees in France, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and United States. The research is a collaboration between Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies and Aegon.