Finary / OpinionWay survey: 76% of French workers say they pay into a pension system in France they will never benefit from
Updated on 30 July 2026
According to a 2026 Finary x OpinionWay survey, 76% of working people in France say they are paying into a pension system they believe they will never benefit from. The study also covers distrust of the pay-as-you-go system, the perception gap between women and men, and the lack of financial preparation among working people.
- Reference retirement age: working people estimate they need to retire at 64.6 years old on average to receive a decent pension.
- A system seen as fragile: 70% of working people consider the pay-as-you-go system unsustainable, and 85% consider politicians incapable of reforming it.
- Gender inequality: 83% of women expect a pension lower than or equal to that of men, versus 67% of men themselves.
- Lack of preparation: 61% of working people say they are poorly informed about their future pension, and only 38% have already started saving.
- A growing awareness: 89% of working people consider it necessary to invest on their own, and 58% will make it a resolution for 2026.
8 out of 10 French people worried about the future of pensions in France
French people express a perceived fragility in the pension system. While 72% believe it can still work, only 30% consider the situation genuinely sustainable. Conversely, 42% believe the system can only keep working for a few more years, and 28% believe it can no longer work at all. This perception is even more pronounced among women (33%) and among 35-49 year-olds (36%).
This concern comes with strong distrust of political leaders: 85% of French people believe they are incapable of durably reforming the pension system. On the economic front, the judgment is just as harsh, with 88% believing that political leaders do not know how to make good investments.
Paradoxically, this does not tarnish the symbolic image of retirement. For 97% of French people, it remains associated with positive notions. The words that best describe it are free time (76%), rest (58%) and freedom (53%).
A system seen as unfair and a source of frustration
76% of working people, or nearly 8 out of 10 French people, feel they are paying into a system they will never benefit from, and 75% think their pension amount will be lower than that of their parents.
This divide is reinforced by the perception of how generations are treated politically. 55% of French people believe public decision-makers pay more attention to retirees than to younger generations, a feeling particularly pronounced among the youngest (71% of 18-24 year-olds and 75% of 25-34 year-olds).
Faced with the difficulties of working people, retirees are going it alone and defending their own interests: 74% are not willing to accept a reduction in their pension even if it guaranteed a pension for future generations.
Worth noting: 8% of working people even think they will never be able to live decently on their pension alone. People holding no financial product are over-represented (13% versus 6% for those holding at least one product).
Given this context, French people are being realistic: they estimate the average retirement age needed to get a decent pension at 64.6.
Goals
Women, the big losers of the pension system?
This feeling of unfairness goes beyond the generational issue: 76% of French people think women will end up with a pension lower than or equal to that of men. This feeling is especially dominant among women themselves: 83% think so (versus 67% of men). Women are also more likely than men to expect running short of money once retired (81% versus 66%), and to think their pension amount will be lower than that of their parents (79% versus 69% for men).
One feeling dominates among women in particular: that of paying into a system they will not benefit from. 80% think so, versus 71% of men. Likewise, the prospect of not having a decent pension at all (considered by 8% of non-retirees) is particularly shared by women: they are twice as likely as men to consider it (10% versus 5%).
As a result, women are slightly more likely to think it is necessary to invest as early as possible to best prepare for retirement (90% versus 87% of men), and that investing on their own is necessary (90% versus 88% of men) to have a comfortable retirement.
Despite this, few French people prepare for retirement, for lack of knowledge
The study highlights a major lack of information that hinders planning ahead: 61% of working people believe they are poorly informed about their future pension. This feeling is even stronger among women: 69% (excluding “don't know” answers).
As a result, only 38% of working people have already started preparing financially for retirement (savings, investments, etc.), while 15% say it is not urgent.
To see where you stand, you can compare the estimated pension amount by salary level, for example for a salary at the SMIC (France's minimum wage), at €1,300 net, at €2,000 net, at €4,000 net or at €8,000 net.
Faced with uncertainty and a lack of information, French people then turn to reassuring solutions: 45% of working people and 86% of retirees think their pension will be guaranteed by the State. Yet on financial matters, French people judge politicians harshly: 88% think they do not know how to make good investments.
Will 2026 be the year of funded pensions?
Everything points to yes: 89% of working people now consider it necessary to invest on their own to hope for a comfortable retirement, and 88% believe they should start investing as early as possible.
Following this logic, 21% of working people are not counting on a pension guaranteed by the State and say their main source of income once retired will come from past and future investments. This feeling is shared in particular by 18-24 year-olds and 25-34 year-olds (25% and 27% respectively).
2026 could be the year of realisation: 58% of working people say preparing financially for retirement could be one of their New Year's resolutions
“This study gives us a new perspective on how French people view their retirement: they understand they can no longer rely on the system that benefited previous generations.
This realisation about the limits of the current system, combined with French people's distrust of politicians, is pushing them to take charge of their own finances.
That said, there is a gap between theory and practice. A lack of financial education, the complexity of taxation and anxiety-inducing political rhetoric still hold back investment significantly.
The challenge is therefore not just financial: it is also educational.
Giving French people the means to understand, plan ahead and decide becomes an essential condition to prevent retirement from becoming an additional factor of economic inequality. ” says Mounir Laggoune, CEO and co-founder of Finary.
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Sources
OpinionWay for Finary, French people, the sustainability of the pension system and investing, 2026
Finary, over a million users, official homepage, 2026
AMF, whitelist of Crypto-Asset Service Providers (CASP, “PSCA” in French), Finary SAS
