The discussion about the future of pensions is a long-running issue.

Despite all the problems with pension insurance, almost half of people in Germany rely on the state for their retirement provision. According to a survey by the Association of German Banks (BdB), 46 percent consider the statutory pension to be the most important building block for their livelihood in old age.

This is particularly true for the age group 60 and over (63 percent), but four out of ten respondents (44 percent) also answered accordingly among 16- to 29-year-olds.

A total of 1,316 people aged 16 and over participated in the survey in April/May of this year. Nearly two-thirds of respondents (64 percent) believe that the state is primarily responsible for providing financial support for citizens in old age.

At the same time, there is great sympathy for the idea of ​​a "share pension," as envisioned by the FDP during the failed "traffic light" government: billions would be invested in the capital market in order to use the returns to mitigate the sharp increase in pension contributions expected in the coming years.

This proposal to broaden the financing basis of the statutory pension insurance system by building up a capital stock – also known as "generational capital" – is supported by almost half of the respondents (45 percent). However, almost as many (42 percent) stated that they could not judge this. This shows "that the proposal still

is likely to be unknown,” concluded the banking association.