Preventing financial vulnerability during retirement: cumulative risk factors and impactful interventions

Although pensions are intended to provide financial security after retirement, a significant portion of Dutch retirees live at or near the poverty line. Financial worries can lead to stress and reduced health and wellbeing. This project examines how lifelong risk factors contribute to financial vulnerability in later life and develops interventions to strengthen the financial resilience of vulnerable groups.

About 28% of Dutch retirees struggle to make ends meet, and 21% worry about their financial situation. However, there is a lack of knowledge about the underlying causes. Financial vulnerability is more than just a low pension income: spending patterns, health problems, limited digital skills, or a lack of trust in the system also play a role.

Using data from the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) and a large-scale survey, the project maps which combinations of life-course factors—such as employment history, education level, health, and living situation—increase the risk of financial vulnerability, and how this varies between groups. In addition, interviews and focus groups explore how retirees and near-retirees experience their financial situation and what strategies they use to cope. Based on these insights, designers, pension professionals, and social organizations jointly develop interventions to better reach and support vulnerable groups, for example through improved communication, accessible tools, or personal guidance in making future choices.

The results help pension funds and policymakers better tailor their services to the needs of financially vulnerable groups, which can contribute to a strengthened duty of care. Existing initiatives, such as the Reality Check by the General Civil Pension Fund (ABP) and the advisory process by the National Institute for Employment and Social Security (RAS), are adapted and improved for hard-to-reach groups.

€304.982 will be used as a PPP programme allowance.