A paradoxical situation has developed in the European Union. The population is ageing, the economy is stagnating, and at the same time huge amounts of people's savings are lying unused in banks.
The development of personal pensions at the national and cross-border levels is hindered by high compulsory payments to public pension funds, restrictions on the participation of the self-employed and the unemployed, rules governing access to retirement savings, taxation of retirement income and other national legal requirements.