Role in the world economy

AEGON believes that its main businesses - life insurance, pensions and investments - have significant potential for growth in the years ahead. AEGON also believes that  the insurance industry as a whole has a vital economic and social role to play protecting living standards and ensuring the long-term viability of pension systems around the world. In 2008, life insurance premiums worldwide totaled almost USD 2.5 trillion[1].

In many countries - particularly in Western Europe, the United States and Japan - people are living longer, healthier lives. At the same time, workforces available to finance pension systems are shrinking and governments are increasingly shifting the burden of retirement funding to individuals and private sector providers like AEGON. By 2050, according to the latest estimates from the United Nations[2], more than one in five Americans will be over the age of 65. In Western Europe, that figure is higher - more than one in four - while in Japan, by the middle of the current century, those over 65 will account for nearly 40% of the country's total population.

[1] Source: Swiss Re.

[2] Source: United Nations World Population Prospects.