"In the findings of the survey by Kantar Emor we can see a clear trend that as the pension reform is drawing nearer, the share of people who are planning to go on saving has been continuously increasing and the numbers of those who have decided to withdraw their money have declined. This demonstrates that people who are better-informed decide to go on saving," Jarno Edur, head of pension and investment products at Swedbank Estonia, said in a press release.

Edur pointed out that those who withdraw their money will lose the possibility to accumulate money under the 2+4 scheme into their pension fund account for 10 years.

"It seems that people are getting this message too. They understand that, withdrawing money and investing it on their own, yields of 200 percent are not easily possible," he said. 

The survey taken by pollster Kantar Emor in December shows that only 19 percent of respondents are planning to withdraw their money from the mandtory second pillar, while another 4 percent intend to start investing themselves via an investment account. 

As recently as in August of this year, 26 percent of respondents were sure they would withdraw their money and 8 percent had set their sights on an investment account.

"The pension reform makes using the money of the second pillar more flexible, and this definitely is positive for those saving for pension. Many clients are also waiting for the possibilities related to the investment account to become clear in spring. The possibility to withdraw one's pension money, however, is the last resort, which our people, fortunately, are not rushing to use now," Edur added.

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