Soon the end of pay-as-you-go retirement? It’s impossible to know, but that’s, at the very least, what an overwhelming majority of French people surveyed as part of the “The French, savings and retirement” barometer established by Ipsos for the Cercle des Epargnants think. Out of 1,000 people surveyed*, including retirees and non-retirees, 81% consider themselves worried about the future of the French retirement system.
A worry that increases with age, rising to 85% among retireesi.e. 65 years and over. It is the opposite when it comes to their personal retirement. If, overall, 58% of those concerned feel apprehension about their own retirement, i.e. less pessimism than for the system itself, this figure drops to 44% for retirees but rises to 63% for non-retirees. It even peaks at 72% for the 45-54 age group!
Despite everything, the French are more confident
To summarize, retirees are more worried than non-retirees about the collapse of the French retirement system but are conversely less worried about their own retirement, which has already begun. Intergenerational differences therefore. But these generations agree on one point. The French today feel less worry and more confidence about retirement, overall or personal, than in 2017, nine years earlier. The reasons? “This development comes with Covid and the start of “Whatever it takes” decided by the government at the timeexplains Brice Teinturier, general deputy director of Ipsos in charge of the barometer. This state intervention gave confidence to the French, just like the 2023 pension reform, despite its unpopularity”he continues. For two years, confidence regarding pensions has crumbled while concern has gained ground, without reaching 2017 levels. This is not unrelated to the French context marked by a certain political instability. In short, a context of uncertainty regarding pensions which forces those concerned to consider alternatives.
Pension funds, a popular option but…
And the first of these alternatives is none other than the development of pension funds. In other words, capitalization retirement. Six out of ten people surveyed (60%) think that this mechanism would ensure the viability of the pension system. Then comes a second alternative, namely raising the retirement age for 42% of those questioned. Two options that seem to be gaining popularity over the last two years. Yes, even the decline in the starting age. But these figures should be taken with a pinch of salt in both cases. : “Pension funds are attractive because people tell themselves that they are not dependent on the State or the macro-economy but on themselves. However, they don’t really know what’s behind it, how they workanalyzes Brice Teinturier. As for the increase in the retirement age, we must be wary of the figure, as we saw with the last pension reform”estimates the expert.
He adds that statements of intent are often weaker when confronted with reality. A statement that translates into numbers. From 60%, this willingness drops to 47% among non-retirees when asked if they would be ready to subscribe to a pension fund. Same logic with the increase in the starting agegoing from 42% to 33% intention among future retirees.
In the meantime, the French are still saving a lot for their retirement: 67% of non-retirees put aside for their professional afterlifeor 11 points more than ten years ago. On a national scale, this translates into a record level of savings in Francewith its more than 6,000 billion euros in 2025.
*Study carried out from January 2 to 8, 2026, among 1,000 people residing in mainland France, aged 18 and over, constituting a representative sample of this population. Among the 1,000 participants, 728 are non-retirees – 624 are active – and 272 are retirees.
