The experiment carried out by SEB revealed the areas of expenditure which people give up first when their incomes abruptly decrease

The experiment “Life in the Shoes of a Pensioner” initiated by AS SEB Elu ja Pensionikindlustus, in which the representatives of different generations live off a pension for a month, revealed the initial areas of expenditure which have to be given up in retirement.

The experiment’s participants have, in their first video blogs – which, amongst everything else, focus on the budgeting of the pension received on the pension day – cited the main areas of expenditure which have to be given up right away, if one is to financially make ends meet until the end of the month. First, any plans related to entertainment and eating out are crossed out. These are followed by expenses relating to fitness clubs, unreasonable car rides and smaller emotion-based purchases, for example, a cup of coffee taken in passing. The experiment’s participants have also calculated the impact incurred by visits, participation in birthdays and meetings with friends-colleagues.

“We started this social experiment in order to once again draw the attention of the Estonian people to the problems relating to the abrupt decrease in income during retirement age. Since only 15% of Estonia’s population is seriously thinking about and taking action when it comes to securing their retirement age, then in this experiment we are thinking for the remaining 85% of people, who have not yet opened the topic of pension for themselves. We initiated the experiment to give people the chance to see the lives of our bloggers realistically, and what would happen if retirement began tomorrow. How much will this type of retirement be worth living if everything agreeable is given up and there is a constant need to think about securing additional sources of income,” said Indrek Holst, Member of the Management Board of SEB Life and Pension Insurance, explaining the background of the experiment.

“If we also wish to live a full life during retirement, then our pension should not be 40% of the last pre-pension income, like the first and second pillar should ensure us, but should instead be 60–75%, and in order to achieve this, conscious and planned work has to be done,” stated Holst, concluding his thoughts on the topic.

All of the participants in SEB’s experiment believe that life in the shoes of a pensioner requires strict financial discipline and noticeable resourcefulness in order to guarantee yourself the opportunities to participate in social life, ensure a healthy diet and a certain standard of living. The participants in the experiment still have four weeks of living off pension left. You can see the video blog on the home page: www.seb.ee/pensionivalmidus.

Representatives of generations X, Y, and Z will be taking part in the experiment: Rain Resmeldt Uusen, Marketing Director of CV.ee, YouTube blogger, Generation-Z representative; Andrei Titov, Host of ETV+, Editor-in-chief for MK-Estonia, Generation-Y representative; Mari Kurmm, Security worker, Generation-X representative. They will all be keeping video blogs during the experiment “Life in the Shoes of a Pensioner”.

The division of generations is based on the common features and value assessments which characterise them. It started last century, when the authors William Strauss and Neil Howe created the theory of different generations. According to their vision, every generation has common features, which give it their own specific nature and which can also generally be divided between certain years of birth.

• Generation X  are people born in the 1960s and 1970s, following the post-World War II baby boomers, who are characterised by isolation from society, the violation of its rules, and the switching off of community traditions.
• Generation Y (born in the 1980s and 1990s) has been characterised as a civic-minded generation with a strong sense of community, both local and global.
• Generation Z (children born starting from the 1990s), however, is an absolute smart technology generation, for whom the smart technology revolution is the reality of life and for whom both, ecological as well as healthy and prudent management values are of primary importance.

Additional information and contact with the participants:

Julia Piilmann
Communications manager
Marketing and Communications Division
SEB Pank

Phone +372 665 5340
Address Tornimäe 2, 15010 Tallinn
E-mail julia.piilmann@seb.ee
www.seb.ee

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