European Economic Area (EEA) personal pension products (PPPs) with unit-linked characteristics yielded an average return of 9.6 per cent in 2024, according to analysis by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA).

Its Costs and Past Performance Report 2026 on retail investment products in the European Union included PPPs but not Pan-European Personal Pension Products (PEPP), due to the "very limited" number of products currently available in the market.

Its analysis includes 1,677 products with pension features in the EEA.

EIOPA’s analysis found that between 2020 and 2024, the annualised net return of unit-linked PPPs was around 4.2 per cent. However, the authority noted considerable variation between member states.

Personal pension products with profit participation features had a modest average return of around 1.4 per cent in 2024, and 1 per cent on average over the previous four years.

In addition, the costs associated with these products showed variability compared to the Costs and Past Performance Report 2025.

For example, an increase in the Reduction in Yield (RIY) to 2.4 per cent was identified for unit-linked PPPs, while those with profit participation saw a RIY decrease to 1.3 per cent.

EIOPA said its analysis of the sector was conducted on a “best effort basis” as the diversity of PPPs across member states, sometimes classified as IBIPs, posed challenges to standardised comparison, mainly due to the absence of a harmonised European regulatory framework.

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