Are the French gradually turning the page on the welfare state? This is in any case one of the main lessons of the study carried out by Meilleurtaux, a specialist in credit, insurance and savings brokerage, with the YouGov institute on the relationship of the French to money and financial institutions. According to this survey, 75% of French people anticipate a deterioration of public systemswhether it concerns retirement, health, dependency or even education. Even more striking, only 38% of respondents still say they trust the pay-as-you-go pension system, while a majority believe they must prepare their financial future themselves.
This observation itself surprised Thomas Vandeville, chairman and CEO of Meilleurtaux. “I knew that the French were probably quite lucid, because we see it every day in our exchanges with our customers. But in these proportions, I did not expect it »he confides. For the manager, these results reflect both “a form of anxiety” facing the future and “a need for much more proactive preparation”. According to him, the French have gradually become aware of the difficulties weighing on public finances and the limits of collective protection mechanisms. Consequently, the French are more interested in their savings and are increasingly seeking to secure their financial future themselves.
Retirement: only 38% of French people still trust the system
Among the most striking results of the study is distrust of the pay-as-you-go pension system. Only 38% of French people still say they trust him. For Thomas Vandeville, the observation is clear: ” Yes, It’s a real crisis of confidence. ». He also sees “a loss of prestige of the State and the welfare state”.
This concern is explained, according to him, by the financial prospects of the system. “When you look at the latest COR report and the projection of replacement rateit’s scary. For a private employee, the replacement rate will increase to 60% while for an executive, it will drop to 40% ». In other words, certain assets could suffer a very significant drop in income upon retirement.
But Thomas Vandeville believes that the French have already understood this development. “They are very lucid, more than their national elected officials”he says. This lucidity fuels, according to him, a growing desire to prepare for retirement yourself, through savings, life insurance, PER or other investments.
Health: increasingly expensive supplements
Distrust does not only concern pensions. Nearly six in ten French people also doubt the ability of Health Insurance to properly cover their health expenses in the future. Here again, Thomas Vandeville considers this concern well-founded: “All projections show that the health insurance deficit will widen further ».
On the ground, the manager is already observing a concrete consequence: the cost of complementary health insurance is becoming difficult to bear for certain households. “ The French can no longer afford responsible contracts. They’re getting too expensive.”he explains. Some policyholders, particularly seniors, then switch to contracts with less coverage, but less expensive. “They agree, in order not to pay too much for health insurance, to opt for non-responsible contracts”he specifies. This development requires, according to him, particular vigilance. “We must be extremely responsible in the explanations we give to customers about what will be less covered”insists Thomas Vandeville, referring to deductibles, waiting periods or reimbursement levels.
Dependency: a risk that is almost not covered
Another major area of concern: dependence. According to the study, nearly two out of three French people consider current systems insufficient to cope with loss of autonomy. For Thomas Vandeville, this result is not surprising. The leader thus recalls that the famous fifth pillar of Social Security, dedicated to dependency, “never saw the light of day”. According to him, the reason is simple: “We already have no more money”. As a result, the French themselves anticipate this risk: “They say to themselves: if tomorrow I have an accident in life and I find myself dependent, how will I finance it? » he argues. This fear helps explain the high level of household savings. “They know they can only count on themselves”summarizes the CEO of Meilleurtaux.
Financial education: “historically, in France, we have never done anything”
The study also shows that less than one in two French people believe they understand financial products well. Thomas Vandeville is not surprised. According to him, this delay is explained by a French culture long based on public protection. “In France, we have always had great confidence in the overall social protection system. So we paid less attention to these subjects”he analyzes.
The manager also points to the lack of financial education. “Historically, in France, we have never nothing significant done in terms of financial educatione “he believes, even if he welcomes the recent initiatives of the Banque de France and the generalization of the financial education passport in fourth grade.
In his eyes, France remains marked by “stronger aversion to risk and financial markets” than in other countries. In the United States or the United Kingdom, countries in which he worked, citizens are made more responsible earlier about the need to prepare for their retirement and invest, he explains.
Banks: the French no longer want to take “what’s on the shelf”
The transformation of the relationship with money also affects banks. According to the study, only 31.5% of French people consider the offers of traditional financial players competitive. For Thomas Vandeville, this is not necessarily a rejection of the banks, but rather the end of a certain passivity. “Historically, customers stayed with the same bank their entire lives. They took what was on the shelf”he recalls. Now, customers compare more. “They become much more proactive in challenging offers”he observes.
This development is part, according to him, of a broader consumer movement. “Today, customers are much more attentive, much more demanding when it comes to offers. It’s the same movement in financial services”he analyzes. Covid would have accelerated this shift. Confinements have accustomed customers to managing their accounts, their insurance or their investments remotely. “They always value relational proximity and human advice, but not necessarily physical”summarizes Thomas Vandeville.
AI becomes a financial education tool
Artificial intelligence is also starting to change the relationship the French have with their money. Among those under 35, 25% are already using AI to help them with their personal finances, according to Thomas Vandeville. For the moment, these uses relate mainly to information and education. “They ask questions and get answers, sometimes even recommendations”he explains. But this development also raises regulatory questions: “Giving financial advice requires training, accreditation, certification. The regulator will have to look into the subject”he warns.
This rise in power of AI is already changing the relationship with financial advisors. “When a customer arrives after having inquired with an AI enginehe has a much higher level of education and requirements”estimates Thomas Vandeville. Financial institutions will therefore have to adapt to customers who are better informed and more difficult to convince.
A “reappropriation of personal finances”
Basically, Thomas Vandeville sees in this study a cultural shift. The French no longer delegate their financial future to the State, their bank or traditional institutions as much as before. “What we observe, both with regard to the State and with regard to traditional institutions, is reappropriation of personal finances »he summarizes. This development can also be seen in the level of savings, which remains very high. “The savings rate is 20%. This is the rate that there was at the time of confinement, when people stopped consuming”he recalls.
For the boss of Meilleurtaux, all these figures therefore converge towards the same diagnosis. He concludes: ” It is a huge cultural changeboth in behavior towards the welfare state and towards traditional institutions. »
