By Gabriele Denaro · Published 16 July 2026 · Updated 6 October 2026
Anna starts putting €200 a month into a pension plan at 25 and keeps going until 65. Marco does the same from 35. Assume a steady return of 4% a year, which real markets do not deliver but which keeps the arithmetic clean. At 65 Anna has about €232,200 after paying in €96,000. Marco has about €137,100 after paying in €72,000. She paid in a third more and ended up with almost 70% more.
For Marco to reach Anna's figure he would need to pay in about €339 a month for 30 years. That is nearly 70% more per month than she paid, and about €122,000 in total, €50,000 more than at €200 a month. A late start is not hopeless, but catching up is expensive.
The example isolates one variable. Real outcomes also depend on how much you contribute, whether an employer adds to it, the fees of the plan, how it is invested and what rules apply to withdrawals. A higher contribution or a cheaper plan can matter as much as an earlier start. The point is that time is an input you cannot buy later.
This guide is about time horizons, not about which pension fund, provider or allocation to choose. Those choices depend on your country, your employer, your tolerance for risk and rules that change. The guides in the Italy section cover the local specifics for readers who live there.
Patrimony tracks retirement as its own category, separate from liquid savings and other investments, because it behaves differently: usually illiquid, with a long horizon and rules of its own. Mixing it into one total would hide that difference.
General educational information, not personal financial, tax or legal advice. It may be incomplete or out of date. Terms of use.