LONG-TERM FINANCIAL SECURITY: SAVINGS STRATEGIES FOR THE ACTIVE POPULATION

Ensuring an adequate standard of living after retirement represents a major challenge for the active population in Romania, in the context of demographic pressures on the public pension system and limited opportunities for voluntary savings. This study aims to identify efficient individual savings structures, through the comparative analysis of three categories of financial instruments: voluntary private pension funds, bank deposits and capital market investments. The research methodology combines comparative analysis with long-term financial simulations, built for three distinct risk profiles: conservative, moderate and aggressive. The results indicate that the diversified allocation of contributions, adapted to risk tolerance and accumulation objectives, leads to superior final values compared to the exclusive use of a single financial instrument. The voluntary private pension funds stand out as efficient solutions for long-term savings, due to the tax incentives and investment discipline imposed. The bank deposits offer safety and liquidity, but generate limited returns, while the capital market contributes significantly to the growth of savings, but assumes a higher level of volatility. The study emphasizes the importance of personalizing savings strategies and provides a useful analytical framework for optimizing individual financial decisions oriented towards retirement income security. The analysis also includes pessimistic and optimistic scenarios, to assess the sensitivity of financial savings to variations in returns. These scenarios highlight the robustness of long-term savings strategies.