Romanians Save Only 7% Of Monthly Income, Few Have Life Insurance - Poll

The ING Asigurari de Viata study, called "ING Consumer Resourcefulness", shows that only a quarter of respondents have a private pension plan, about one third have life insurance and 8% have an investment plan.

About 41% of Romanians consider their pensions will be lower than their parents', but only few are looking at ways to ensure a financially safer future, reads the study, which polled consumers in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Romania, Poland, the United States, Mexico, India, Korea and Japan.

Romanians' key motivations for planning their financial future are an insecure pension system (39%), worries concerning financial security (36%) and the need to provide for their families (36%).

Fear regarding the pension system is the main aspect which drives Polish respondents to make financial future plans, while in the U.S., Spain, Korea, Mexico and India, the key financial planning motivation is the financial security, reads the study.

ING Asigurari de Viata general manager Cornelia Coman said that, according to the research, a quarter of Romanians find it uncomfortable to make a long-term financial plan.

Only one third of Romanians have life insurance (compared to a 54% global level), 36% have a saving account and 25% have a pension plan.

Only 8% of Romanians use investment products, which ranks them on the last position among the countries included in the study.

About 63% of Romanians have a credit card and only 15% pay mortgage.

Romanians save 7% of their monthly income, while respondents in the Netherlands, Belgium and Mexico save 10%, Spanish consumers save 11%, Japanese respondents 14%, and Indians and Koreans save over 20% of their monthly income.

Romanians spend 32% of their monthly income on food and 28% on household maintenance products, said the research.

According to the study, 42% of Romanians lack a short-term emergency fund.

Only a quarter of Romanians have an emergency fund to cover financial needs for more than six months. In India, 87% of respondents said they have such an emergency fund, in Japan - 81%, in the Netherlands - 73% of respondents and in Korea - 72%.

According to the study, 27% of Romanians resort to taking out loans when they lack money (vs. 16% at a global level).

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