OREANDA-NEWS. August 24, 2009. An analysis carried out by SEB has revealed that the financial position of those who have joined the 2nd pillar pension scheme is 35% better than those who have not – even after the collapse of the securities market, reported the press-centre of SEB.

The SEB analysis compared the value of the financial assets (deposits, fund shares and insurance agreements) of those who have joined the 2nd pillar pension scheme to those of people who have not. “It showed that those clients who have not joined the 2nd pillar pension scheme have not been able to save as much by themselves as those who have been saving through the scheme,” explained Indrek Holst, the director of SEB Life and Pension Insurance.

The average value of the financial assets of those who have joined the 2nd pillar pension scheme is 46,000 kroons, whereas the average of those who have not is 34,000 kroons – a mean difference of 35%. Half of the financial assets of those who have joined the scheme comprises the money they have saved as part of it. The 2nd pillar pension is the only investment for clients with lower incomes and represents an average of 86% of their savings.

“The greatest difference is in the financial assets of clients with lower incomes, with those of people who have joined the 2nd pillar pension scheme being, on average, four times higher than those who haven’t,” Holst said. “This shows that the 2nd pillar scheme has proven itself to work and that it will even help people with lower incomes shore up their future over the longer term.”

SEB is advising its clients to continue making contributions to the 2nd pension pillar in the coming year, for the duration of which state contributions have been suspended.