Abstract:
In many countries which undergone an economic transition from centrally planned to market economy in Europe, the state old-age pension is the main source of income in retirement. However, replacement rates from public pension schemes have been decreasing. Therefore, supplementary savings for seniors are needed to provide an acceptable standard of living during retirement. We examine the usage of financial products supplementing retirement income of seniors aged 65+ depending on the period of retirement, the financial situation before retirement and socioeconomic status. We use data from the survey carried out in 2018 on the representative sample of Polish seniors aged 65+ for whose households the state old-age pension is the main source of income (1,336 retirees). Logistic regression was performed to study how socioeconomic status, the period of retirement and subjective level of satisfaction with expenses in the preretirement period influenced the likelihood of using financial products (general model) and specific financial products (separate models) for retirement purposes.The general logistic model showed that factors such as a higher level of education, non-dependent work increased chances for using financial products. There are differences between seniors who used particular financial products, derived from separate regression models. A higher likelihood of possessing life insurance products characterized those who performed employment contracts, who used early retirement and retired between 2009-2018. The highest chances for utilizing capital market instruments were those with a higher level of education and performing non-dependent work. The outcomes of the research show that usage of financial products among seniors in Poland is growing and becoming more diversified but still is moderate.
