On 10 September, the workshop “Saving for retirement through auto‑enrolment and supplementary pensions”, co‑organised with the Irish Presidency of the Council, brought together representatives from national finance, social and labour ministries, supervisors and social partners to share experiences and support national initiatives to strengthen supplementary pension systems.
Public pensions are, and will remain, the foundation of retirement income in all Member States. But demographic pressures are growing everywhere: across Europe, longer lives, lower birth rates and changing labour markets are creating an increasing strain on traditional pension arrangements. Failure to address these common challenges could have severe societal consequences across the EU – too many people will face a sharp drop in income when they retire and the burden on public budgets will become harder to manage.
Rather than replacing public pension systems or prescribing a single model, the Commission’s work with Member States aims to enable supplementary pensions to complement public pensions, ensuring adequate income replacement and sufficient retirement income to maintain living standards. This means offering cheaper, transparent and more accessible supplementary savings vehicles with sustainable returns, including well‑designed auto‑enrolment frameworks that make participation easier, while leaving full control and choice in people’s hands. Implementing these necessary structural reforms will make it easier for people to take early action regarding retirement savings and to actively build their long‑term financial security.
Auto‑enrolment means that you are in, unless you choose to be out. That opt‑out mechanism encourages people to prepare for their financial future while fully respecting individual choice and freedom. Experience shows that auto‑enrolment successfully addresses the very real behavioural tendency to postpone decisions about saving and planning for the future. Yet currently, only around 20 percent of Europeans participate in occupational pension schemes, and only 18 percent hold a personal pension product.
While encouraging Member States to adopt auto‑enrolment, the Commission is not taking a simple ‘copy/paste’ approach, recognising that this is a policy instrument that needs to be adapted to each country’s national context. For instance, in some countries, it could be built around existing occupational structures and collective agreements. Conversely, in others, it might require stronger public infrastructure. Similarly, in some, employers or professional associations may be the natural entry point. Alternatively, in others, a more centralised architecture may reduce friction.
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