AEGON Retirement Readiness Survey Finds Global Outlook For Future Retirement Bleak Without Immediate Action

AEGON CEO Alex Wynaendts said: "People in general are enjoying longer, healthier lives, and yet their readiness for a longer retirement is considerably less than that of previous generations of retirees. A concerted effort is needed to reconsider traditional retirement models and provide greater flexibility for phased retirement. If current pension systems are not adapted to the new realities of longer life spans and declining government and employer funding, the burdens placed on society will be a source of even greater economic and societal turmoil in the future. The good news is that people in general accept their responsibility in creating the conditions that will provide for a secure and satisfying retirement."

The AEGON survey also showed that the traditional "retirement cliff" is disappearing, referring to people going straight from working life into full retirement. Consequently, phased retirement is set to become the norm as more people expect to continue some kind of work activity past traditional retirement age. Fifty-four percent of the current generation of retirees went straight from work into full retirement, but only 30% of the current working generation expects a similar path. The findings further indicate that "silver entrepreneurs" could become more common as many in this current generation plan to combine activities such as starting their own businesses with leisure pursuits in their advanced years.

Alex Wynaendts: "Advances in longevity and health, combined with a modern approach to retirement, can make this life stage a period of productivity and personal fulfillment. It is in the interests of public policy makers, employers and the financial services industry - working together - to provide the incentives and opportunity for people to achieve the level of financial security that will be required for a longer period than at any time in history."

The AEGON survey, developed in collaboration with the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies ^® - a non-profit, private foundation in the United States dedicated to conducting research and educating the public on retirement security trends - and Cicero Consulting, a leading public policy and communications consulting firm providing independent market research to the financial services sector, was conducted with the aim of understanding prevailing attitudes about retirement in the future and to determine the levels of financial readiness that currently exist among today's working generation.

To access all information related to the AEGON Retirement Readiness Survey, go to http://www.aegon.com.

Note: The AEGON Retirement Readiness Survey 2012 represents the views of respondents in the following countries: France, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.

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