European Economic Area (EEA) unit-linked personal pension products generated average returns of 9.6% in 2024, according to new analysis from the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), published in Apriol 2026.
The authority’s Costs and Past Performance Report examined 1,677 pension products across the EEA, revealing significant performance variations by product type and geography. Over the five-year period from 2020-2024, unit-linked personal pension products delivered annualized net returns of 4.2%, though EIOPA noted considerable differences between member states.
Personal pension products with profit participation features showed more modest performance, averaging just 1.4% returns in 2024 and 1% over the previous four years. The analysis excluded Pan-European Personal Pension Products due to limited market availability.
Cost structures also varied significantly. The Reduction in Yield metric increased to 2.4% for unit-linked products compared to the previous year, while profit participation products saw costs decrease to 1.3%.
EIOPA acknowledged challenges in conducting standardized comparisons due to the diversity of personal pension products across member states and the absence of harmonized European regulatory frameworks. As retirement savings products continue evolving across Europe, standardization efforts will likely intensify to improve transparency and comparability for consumers and employees.
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