Experts believe that for the modern consumer who wants to get an additional income to his pension, an advanced competition and managed variety of financial products are necessary, the newspaper writes.
The All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presented a study on willingness of Russians to use various financial instruments to provide additional income after retirement. The survey has shown that the majority of Russians are ready to save for their own retirement using various financial instruments.
According to VCIOM, "the level of awareness of Russian citizens about the alternative options for providing additional income after retirement is quite high - more than half (58%) of the respondents are somehow familiar with various investment options."
Along with bank deposits and private pension funds, which 28% and 26% of Russian citizens are respectively familiar with, 22% of Russians note endowment products, and another 22% - other life insurance programs. Oksana Sinyavskaya, the Head of the Center for Comprehensive Social Studies of the HSE, considers the results of the study to be representative: " It is great for current socio-economic conditions that every 4th citizen knows about contributions and private pension funds, and every 5th person knows about universal life insurance, especially if we think where we started a little more than two decades ago." It is primarily about the regulated forms of capital accumulation not related to savings "under the mattress" or real estate investments.
The top 3 most used (regulated) methods of savings, formed by VCIOM based on a study, included a cash or bank deposit (23%), contributions to non-state pension funds (14%), and life insurance programs (universal life insurance - 6%, other life insurance programs - 10%). Besides, Russians are ready to become independent investors and save up for old age with deposits or deposits in a bank (23%), life insurance policies (10%) or contributions to non-state pension funds (10%).
“There is a public consensus on the issue: people want the number of financial instruments to expand,” commented Kirill Rodin, director for work with state authorities of VCIOM. According to him, an important role in increasing the interest of the population in the wider use of financial instruments should be played by broadening public awareness of these tools.
Kirill Rodin also explained what role was assigned to the government by respondents: “We see that 57% of respondents believe that the state should ensure equal terms for financial organizations and a noticeably smaller proportion of people assert that terms should vary depending on financial organizations”. According to the sociologist, the requirement of equal terms for the use of saving methods is typical of a young audience.
People also expect from the state guarantees of their investments’ safety (31%), a firm control over the activities of financial organizations (26%), freedom of choice of the accumulation mechanism (12%) and equal benefits to citizens when using different methods of savings (10%).
Anton Tabakh, Chief Economist at the Expert RA rating agency, Associate Professor at the HSE and Moscow State University, supported the need for a variety of financial instruments to provide additional income after retirement. "The main thing is that this diversity should be managed and controlled," the expert believes. - "And it is difficult to argue with the fact that there must be different products: pension, insurance, and deposit for the appropriate risk profile and needs."
“It is necessary to expand the system of instruments, there is not supposed to be just one tool,” noted Dmitry Zhuravlev, Director General of the Regional Issue Institute. “There should not be 100 identical screwdrivers; there should be screwdrivers, wrenches and everything else. And in order for instruments to exist in reality, they must have the same positions; there should be no preferences for one or another instrument."
Oleg Nikolayev, a member of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy, said that the issue of equality of state guarantees for various financial instruments is directly related to the state fulfilling the functions of the financial market regulator, safeguarding interests of citizens and public inquiry. Lawmakers are actively working to provide citizens with the opportunity to consciously invest and “equalize investment terms for financial institutions” on the other hand. According to the parliamentarian, personal savings of citizens are "very important for the formation of long-term investment assets necessary for the development of the Russian economy, as well as financial market institutions: funds, insurance companies, other financial and credit organizations."
According to Oleg Nikolayev, the State Duma is working on creating tools for using digital platforms; the law on digital marketplaces is being prepared. “Thus, on one site, where dozens of banks and insurance companies are combined, without leaving home, a person can compare various investment instruments, ask questions and get answers to them, choose what will guarantee the accumulation and safety of his funds,” said Oleg Nikolayev.
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