BANGALORE: AEGON Religare Life Insurance (ARLI), released the India report on the AEGON Retirement Readiness Survey 2014 - Changing Face of Retirement. In the 15-country online survey that was carried out jointly by ARLI’s parent company - AEGON and Cicero Consulting, India participated for the very first time and ranked first on the AEGON Retirement Readiness Index (ARRI), ahead of BRIC counterparts - Brazil and China.

 The research team developed the AEGON Retirement Readiness Index (ARRI) to better assess how well employees view their level of retirement preparedness. The India Index score of 7 is the highest of all 15 countries surveyed. This means that an ‘average’ or ‘typical’ Indian with online access has only a ‘medium’ level of retirement preparedness. 49 percent of the Indian employees surveyed, claim to be habitually saving, compared with 38percent of the global sample.

On the release of the India report, Mr KS Gopalakrishnan, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of AEGON Religare Life Insurance (ARLI) said, “India is an emerging market for pensions and annuities. With the outcome of the Retirement Readiness Survey where India has ranked first on the retirement readiness index, we are confident that there exists a huge potential for specific pension and annuity plans. With AEGON’s global expertise in this segment, we are hoping to bring in products to satisfy the retirement appetite of the Indian consumer.”

The India report reflects the dynamism, common to emerging markets, and is also linked to the strong savings culture engrained in the Indian society. The economy is young and vibrant; and many Indians are optimistic of the future prosperity. This survey finds that those who have access to a pension are largely confident about their retirement. Yet this group represents only a minority of a population that faces much more extensive challenges to retirement readiness. In the period of prosperity that drives young Indians optimism for the future, the challenge for retirement readiness will be to distribute these gains among all of society.