site.btaOnly 6% of Bulgarians Confident They Can Live Comfortably on Their Pensions - Survey

Only 9% of EU citizens and 6% of people in Bulgaria express full confidence that they will live comfortably with their pension, 33% (22 % in Bulgaria) are rather confident, 32% (36% in Bulgaria) are not very confident and 22% (33% in Bulgaria) are not at all confident that their pension will be enough for a comfortable life as a retiree, show data from a Eurobarometer survey, presented Tuesday by the European Commission.

One in four Bulgarians (24%) and one in three other EU citizens (33%) say they could manage on their own for at least six months if they stopped receiving their current income. Almost one in five (18%) in the EU (16% in Bulgaria) say they can manage for three to six months, 9% (12% in Bulgaria) indicate they can do without help for a month, 16% (23% in Bulgaria) say they have no savings to rely on in such a case.

About a quarter of Europeans show little knowledge of financial matters, the data also show. A total of 24% in the EU and 26% in Bulgaria provide unsatisfactory answers to financial questions. The majority in the EU (65%) and in Bulgaria (67%) are able to select financial services correctly, manage their spending and achieve financial results, the survey shows. In the EU, only 18% (20% in Bulgaria) give unsatisfactory answers to questions related to financial knowledge and financial behaviour, according to the data.

More than half (52%) in the EU and 62% of Bulgarians rate their financial knowledge as "average", 5% perceive themselves as well educated and 12% (5% in Bulgaria) - as poorly educated.

A total of 42% of Bulgarians and 36% of respondents in the rest of the EU feel confident using digital financial services, 33% (41% in the EU) are fairly confident and 14% find this type of service inconvenient. Just under 10% say they find it difficult to use electronic financial services.

Around a third of respondents are not very confident or are only somewhat confident that the financial advice they receive from a bank or insurer is in their best interests.