The number of contracts in Austria's state-sponsored retirement savings scheme (PZV) fell by 6.7 per cent in 2025, according to Austria’s Financial Market Authority (FMA), highlighting the “long-term decline in contract numbers”.

According to the report, The market for state-subsidised retirement savings (PZV) in 2025, at the end of 2025, just four insurance companies were still offering new PZV contracts, managing around 729,000 contracts, down from 782,000 in 2024.

The FMA said new business also continued to weaken, with 7,223 new contracts signed during the year, a 10.6 per cent decrease year-on-year.

It added that the number of new contracts remained insufficient to offset contracts that had matured or been cancelled, meaning the downward trend is expected to continue.

The market for the voluntary retirement savings product has been in long-term decline since the state premium was significantly reduced in 2012, with weaker investment performance during the prolonged low interest rate environment also weighing on demand.

Contract numbers have fallen steadily from an all-time high of 1.6 million in 2012.

Despite this, the FMA found that assets under management benefited from positive developments in the capital markets during the year, rising by 6.8 per cent year-on-year to €9.27bn.

Insurance companies achieved a volume-weighted overall investment performance of 13 per cent before costs in 2025.

The FMA said the 2025 survey covered 18 insurance companies with existing PZV contracts.

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