Many Households Are Missing Out on Opportunities for Higher Returns: Savings Can Be Better Utilized

OCCASIONAL PAPER Unutilized Wealth: A Study on Non-Investors

In Brief Approximately 800,000 Dutch households currently have sufficient liquid wealth to invest, but do not, despite potentially facing a shortfall of funds in the future. For this group, it may therefore be advisable to generate higher returns on their available wealth. This aligns with the European Union's desire to channel household savings toward capital markets to support investments in the European economy. The AFM is working to reduce potential barriers to starting to invest, within the framework of adequate investor protection.

Authors: Maaike Diepstraten and Tobias Vervliet Publication Date: April 2026 Results based on AFM's own calculations in project number 8854 using non-public microdata from the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CBS).

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OCCASIONAL PAPER Unutilized Wealth: A Study on Non-Investors 2

Summary 1 The Nibud buffer can be calculated via the Buffer Calculator.

The European Union wants more household savings to be used for investing to support investments in the European economy. Money currently sitting in bank and savings accounts can be channeled through investments to finance companies and innovation. For households, diversified long-term investing can also yield higher returns than saving, although this comes with greater risk (AFM, 2022). As long as inflation is higher than savings interest rates, households are currently even drawing down on their wealth.

Extra returns on wealth are a pleasant addition for certain households, while for others it may be a necessary supplement if they face a long-term shortfall of funds. Earlier research conducted before the coronavirus crisis showed that there was a group of households that did not invest, despite having sufficient liquid wealth available for it in principle (AFM, 2022). In this study, we use recent figures to map out again how many households have sufficient wealth to invest but do not. We also examine for how many of them it may be advisable to start investing because they may face a shortfall of funds in the future. Finally, we map out the reasons for not investing.

This research shows that approximately 1 in 3 Dutch households did not invest in 2024, while they had sufficient financial means to do so. They have more liquid wealth than the Nibud reference buffer prescribes.1 The proportion of non-investors with sufficient wealth to invest is comparable to 2019. This is due to a (slight) increase in both the proportion of investors and the proportion of households that meet the Nibud reference buffer. A characteristic of this group of non-investors with sufficient wealth to invest is that a large portion is already retired. They therefore have a more limited investment horizon. Both the group that is already retired and the group that is not yet retired have significant amounts available above the Nibud buffer to invest.

For 1 in 10 (over 800,000) Dutch households, it applies that they do not invest, while they currently have the opportunity to do so and may face a shortfall of funds later. These households are currently building up insufficient pension in the first and second pillars to maintain their current standard of living during retirement (the third and fourth pillars are excluded from this study). For this group, it is therefore not only possible, but it may also be advisable to generate higher returns on the wealth they have available. For half of this group, this concerns more than €30,000. Extra returns can improve their future financial position without requiring them to build up an extra buffer or adjust their current consumption pattern.

The extra returns will not be sufficient in all cases to completely cover the future shortfall, but it can improve the financial position. This research does not provide insight into the expected return on current wealth or what portion of the wealth should be invested to have sufficient funds in the future to maintain the current standard of living. Furthermore, the research does not provide insight into the adequacy of pensions for Dutch households (see DNB, 2024). Pension accumulation in this analysis is only used as a proxy for the long-term financial position of households.

Lack of knowledge is the most frequently cited reason for not investing. Many non-investors also find the risk of investing too high, or simply have no interest. A portion of households also states they do not have enough money to invest, even when they have more wealth than the Nibud reference buffer prescribes. The perceptions regarding the

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OCCASIONAL PAPER Unutilized Wealth: A Study on Non-Investors 3

required knowledge, required money, and risks may be creating barriers for consumers to start investing. Additionally, individual preferences play a role; not everyone has the desire to invest, even when the financial space for it is available.

Investing savings (taxed in Box 3) can generate higher returns for households at the micro level and more investments in European business at the macro level. Investing can take various forms: independently, with advice, or through wealth management. It is important that investing is approached wisely: by investing money that can be missed for a longer period, by diversifying, by not investing everything at once, and by taking costs into account. Households can also generate returns on their wealth by investing extra in pensions in the second pillar (via employer) or third pillar (annuity product).

The AFM is working to reduce potential barriers to starting to invest, within the framework of adequate investor protection. To this end, it proactively makes proposals at both the national and European levels. This aims to promote the sustainable financial well-being of consumers, of which wealth accumulation is an important component.

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Who does not invest, and who does? Households mapped out

Investing, but insufficient liquid wealth	Not investing, and insufficient liquid wealth	Investing, and sufficient liquid wealth
410,000 households	1.2 million households	2.6 million households
4 million households

Investing

• Have sufficient liquid wealth: 1.2 million households
• Have insufficient liquid wealth: 410,000 households

Not investing

• Have sufficient liquid wealth: 2.6 million households
• Have insufficient liquid wealth: 4 million households

Not investing, but with sufficient liquid wealth: 800,000 households The number of households, aged 35 to 67 and not yet retired, for whom we have calculated that they may face a shortfall of funds later in life: for them, it may be advisable to start investing.

Top-3 reasons for not investing:

1. "I don't have enough knowledge to invest"
2. "Investing has too many risks"
3. "Investing doesn't interest me"

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OCCASIONAL PAPER

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 6
2. Financial buffer and investments of Dutch households 7 2.1 Four groups of (non-)investors 8 2.2 Supplementary analyses: other definitions of investing and buffers 10 2.3 Characteristics of the four groups 11 2.4 Available wealth of non-investors with sufficient wealth to invest 12
3. Advisability of generating higher returns on wealth 13 3.1 (In)sufficient funds in the long term 13 3.2 Results 14 3.3 Other ways of wealth accumulation 16 3.4 Characteristics of the group potentially financially vulnerable in the long term 17
4. Reasons for not investing 18
5. Conclusion 20
6. References 21 Appendix: Data and methodology 22

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OCCASIONAL PAPER Unutilized Wealth: A Study on Non-Investors 6

1. Introduction The European Union wants more household savings to be used for investing to support investments in the European economy. Money currently sitting in bank and savings accounts can be channeled through investments to finance companies and innovation. For households, diversified long-term investing can also yield higher returns than saving, although this comes with greater risk (AFM, 2022).

Recent research shows that Dutch households invest less frequently independently than the average European household (Carlier, 2025). This refers to investments they make directly. In contrast, Dutch households invest relatively more via their pensions compared to households in other European countries (Carlier, 2025). Furthermore, investing is not suitable or possible for all households; this depends on the financial means households have and individual preferences. Not everyone has the desire to invest, even when the financial space for it is available.

In earlier research, the AFM concluded that before the coronavirus crisis there was a group of households that did not invest, despite having sufficient liquid means for it (AFM, 2022). Because more households have started investing since the pandemic, we are mapping this out again (CBS Statline, 2026). Here we look at the period from 2019 to 2024 and distinguish four groups: 1) non-investors with insufficient liquid wealth, 2) non-investors with sufficient liquid wealth, 3) investors with insufficient liquid wealth, and 4) investors with sufficient liquid wealth. This refers to investing subject to the wealth return tax in Box 3 of the income tax. In the remainder of this document, we refer to this as 'investing'.

For households with sufficient wealth, it may not only be possible, but also advisable to generate higher returns on their wealth than the savings interest they receive. Earlier AFM research (AFM, 2022) shows that passive investing in an equity index fund yields higher returns than saving in most cases over a period of 9 years. When households currently have wealth but may face a shortfall of funds later, it is desirable that they generate higher returns on their current wealth to reduce long-term financial vulnerability.

To determine to what extent it is advisable for households, besides being possible, to generate higher returns on their available wealth, we look at to what extent they may face a shortfall of funds in the long term. Here we look at pension accumulation in the first and second pillars. When households do not build up sufficient pension to maintain their current standard of living, it is desirable that they generate higher returns on their current wealth. In these cases, it is desirable for both the European economy and households to start investing or to generate higher returns in another way. A higher return on current available wealth can improve the long-term financial position without it being necessary to adjust the current consumption pattern.

Finally, we map out the reasons for not investing. Here we distinguish between all non-investors on the one hand, and non-investors with sufficient wealth to invest and insufficient pension accumulation to maintain their standard of living on the other.

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2. Financial buffer and investments of Dutch households To determine whether a household has room to invest, we compare the household's liquid wealth with the Nibud reference buffer. The Nibud reference buffer indicates how much money a household should have on hand to pay for unexpected, large, and necessary expenses (Nibud, n.d.). Think of costs for a new refrigerator or expenses for home or car maintenance.

The size of the reference buffer varies per household and depends on multiple factors. This includes, among other things, the composition of the household, income, type of housing, housing value (in the case of an owner-occupied home), and ownership of car(s). We have linked the Nibud buffer at the household level to CBS Microdata, so that we can determine for each household separately what the prescribed Nibud buffer was in the years 2019 to 2024.

When a household has more money than the reference buffer prescribes, space is created to invest - independent of individual preferences. We define liquid household wealth here as the sum of bank and savings balances plus investments minus consumer credit.

To determine whether a household invests, we look at investments that are taxed in Box 3 of the income tax. When the total value of the investments is greater than zero, we consider the household to be 'investing'. We look exclusively at whether a household invests, not at the size of the investments. Investments in the third pillar are excluded.

By combining whether a household meets the reference buffer and whether or not they invest, we distinguish four groups: 1) non-investors with insufficient liquid wealth, 2) non-investors with sufficient liquid wealth, 3) investors with insufficient liquid wealth, and 4) investors with sufficient liquid wealth.

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OCCASIONAL PAPER Unutilized Wealth: A Study on Non-Investors 8

2.1 Four groups of (non-)investors The proportion of households meeting the reference buffer increased between 2019 and 2024 from 43% to 46% (see Figure 1). In 2024, the median Nibud reference buffer was €26,650.

Figure 1 Development of the proportion of households meeting the reference buffer and the proportion of households investing over the years 2019-2024 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% % meeting buffer | % investors 2019: 43% | 15% 2020: 44% | 15% 2021: 48% | 17% 2022: 47% | 19% 2023: 46% | 19% 2024: 46% | 19% Source: CBS Microdata and Nibud reference buffers

Furthermore, we see that the proportion of households investing increased between 2019 and 2024 from 15% to 19% (see Figure 1). This corresponds with earlier news that more households started investing during the coronavirus pandemic (CBS Statline, 2026; Vervliet and Van Oldeniel, 2025).

Figure 2 Development of groups 1) no investments, insufficient liquid wealth, 2) no investments, sufficient liquid wealth, 3) investments, insufficient liquid wealth, and 4) investments, sufficient liquid wealth over the years 2019-2024 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 No investments, sufficient liquid wealth: 54% 53% 49% 49% 49% 49% No investments, insufficient liquid wealth: 31% 32% 34% 32% 32% 32% Investments, insufficient liquid wealth: 3% 3% 4% 5% 5% 5% Investments, sufficient liquid wealth: 12% 12% 13% 14% 14% 14% Source: CBS Microdata and Nibud reference buffers

In 2024, approximately one-third of households did not invest, while they had sufficient liquid wealth to do so (see Figure 2). Although the number of households investing has increased in recent years, a group of approximately 2.6 million households remains that does not invest despite being financially capable of doing so. Additionally, there is a large group of households that do not invest and have insufficient financial wealth to invest. The proportion of this group has slightly decreased between 2019 and 2024, but still accounts for approximately half of all households (approximately 4 million). Furthermore, we see that approximately 1 in 6 households in 2024 belonged to the group of investors with sufficient wealth (1.2 million households), while approximately 1 in 20 households invested despite their wealth being lower than the reference buffer prescribes (410,000 households).

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OCCASIONAL PAPER Unutilized Wealth: A Study on Non-Investors 9

In almost all age groups, the group of households that do not invest and also do not have sufficient wealth for it is the largest (see Figure 3). This only does not apply to the oldest age group: there, the largest group is the one that does not invest but does have sufficient buffer for it. The proportion of households that do not invest and have insufficient wealth is largest among the youngest age groups. Furthermore, the proportion of investors with sufficient buffer is lowest in the youngest age groups, although this proportion has increased the most strongly in recent years: for youth under 25 from 4% in 2019 to 8% in 2024, and for youth aged 25-34 from 5% to 13%.

Figure 3 Development of groups 1) no investments, insufficient liquid wealth, 2) no investments, sufficient liquid wealth, 3) investments, insufficient liquid wealth, and 4) investments, sufficient liquid wealth over the years 2019-2024, broken down by different age groups [Data visualized across age brackets: Under 25, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65 and older] Source: CBS Microdata and Nibud reference buffers

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OCCASIONAL PAPER Unutilized Wealth: A Study on Non-Investors 10

2.2 Supplementary analyses: other definitions of investing and buffers In addition to investing where investments are taxed in Box 3 of the income tax, households can also contribute to third-pillar products. In that case, they save or invest in a tax-facilitated manner for their pension. In a supplementary analysis, we therefore also include contributions to third-pillar products as investments. Because we cannot distinguish between savings and investment products, we overestimate the proportion of investors in this analysis. However, since only a small portion of households contributed to the third pillar in 2024 (5%), the overestimation is minor and the outcomes of the analysis in the previous paragraph hardly change. When we include third-pillar products, 22% of households invest versus 19% when we do not count this contribution. The proportion of households that do not invest but do have sufficient wealth for it decreases from 32% (without third-pillar contributions) to 30% (with third-pillar contributions).

To determine whether households meet the reference buffer, we calculated liquid wealth as the sum of bank and savings balances plus investments minus consumer credit.

In reality, investments may not be liquid, for example when households have invested in closed-end funds. In supplementary analyses, we therefore partially (75%) or not at all included the value of investments. Logically, this only affects the distribution of households that invest: the proportion of the group that invests and has sufficient buffer for it varies between 11.5% and 14.3% (see Table 1).

Table 1 The proportions of the groups investing/not investing and having/having insufficient wealth to invest for different definitions of liquid wealth

Definition of Liquid Wealth (2024)	No investments, insufficient wealth	No investments, sufficient wealth	Investments, insufficient wealth	Investments, sufficient wealth
Bank & savings + 100% of investments – consumer credit	48.8%	31.9%	5.0%	14.3%
Bank & savings + 75% of investments – consumer credit	48.8%	31.9%	5.4%	13.9%
Bank & savings – consumer credit	48.8%	31.9%	7.8%	11.5%
Source: CBS Microdata and Nibud reference buffers

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2.3 Characteristics of the four groups The four groups of households differ in both demographic and socio-economic characteristics (see Table 2). Several things stand out. For instance, investing households more often have a partner than non-investing households (approximately 70% versus approximately 50%). Households that do not invest but do have sufficient financial means for it are on average older than households in the other groups (59 versus 46-55 years). Of the over 2.6 million households that do not invest and have sufficient wealth for it, the main earner in over 1 million households is already retired. They therefore have a shorter horizon for investing. Furthermore, households that do invest but do not meet the reference buffer are relatively often self-employed (20% versus approximately 10% in other groups).

The groups also differ financially. For investing households, the median disposable income is higher than for non-investing households (over €70,000 versus over €40,000). Additionally, the median bank and savings balance is much higher for households that meet the reference buffer than for households that do not (over €50,000 versus under €15,000). Finally, it stands out that the Nibud reference buffer is higher for the groups that do invest than for the groups that do not invest (almost €40,000 versus almost €25,000). This is related to the earlier observation that these households more often consist of a main earner with a partner.

Table 2 Characteristics of the groups investing/not investing and having/having insufficient wealth to invest. 2024

Characteristic	No investments, Insufficient wealth (N=4,030,639)	No investments, Sufficient wealth (N=2,634,029)	Investments, Insufficient wealth (N=409,965)	Investments, Sufficient wealth (N=1,184,308)
Main earner age	49	59	46	55
Partner present	48%	50%	70%	67%
Main earner is employee	52%	42%	64%	52%
Main earner receives benefit	14%	6%	3%	2%
Main earner is retired	19%	41%	11%	30%
Main earner is self-employed	11%	8%	20%	13%
Owner-occupied home	46%	57%	80%	81%
Median disposable income	€42,009	€44,279	€72,882	€71,363
Median bank & savings	€4,984	€55,112	€14,166	€80,064
Median Nibud reference buffer	€21,950	€24,150	€39,500	€37,350
Source: CBS Microdata and Nibud reference buffers

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2.4 Available wealth of non-investors with sufficient wealth to invest We map out how much money households have available to invest. This concerns the liquid wealth above the reference buffer. Households that just meet the reference buffer will likely not find it worthwhile to delve into investing. Because we saw in the previous paragraph that a large portion of non-investors with sufficient wealth are already retired (and therefore have a more limited investment horizon), we make a distinction here between households where the main earner is already retired and households where the main earner is not yet