Complex pension products: A multidimensional approach

The study analyzes and assesses the economic and linguistic complexity of individual retirement products in Poland. For this purpose, an original multidimensional approach was used and various research methods were applied. We analyzed 75 out of 86 individual pension products (IKEs and IKZEs) offered in Poland in the first half of 2017, covering our analysis of nearly 90% of Poland’s market of individual pension products. We performed the nonparametric Spearman’s rank correlation analysis, we used hierarchical cluster analysis, analysis of variance, and a chi-square test to verify if there was a statistical relationship between the clusters and the type of financial provider and the type of individual pension product (IKE or IKZE). We also built also a map of the products that shows their economic and linguistic complexity. We find that high-fee products tend to have the most complex fee systems, suggesting that the complex fee system may be a strategy used by the providers of individual retirement products. Our results also indicate that individual retirement products are too complex for most individuals.