What Are the Driving Forces of Individuals’ Retirement Savings?

The purpose of this paper is to analyze what factors are driving the retirement savings of European individuals and whether there are marked differences in retirement preparation among a sample of European countries. Our evidence is based on a sample of 6,036 individuals from eight European countries. The results show that although the percentage of savers for retirement varies widely across countries, the driving forces of the decision to save for retirement are quite similar. Thus, this decision is positively related to individuals’ age, financial literacy, household income, and saving habit. In addition, the results suggest that country-level institutional factors also play a crucial role in an individual’s retirement attitudes.