Trend Anxiety about declining prosperity

Summary

The report finds that Dutch people are already very wary of a fall in prosperity and uneasy about their financial future. This unease shows in household savings that are piling up to record levels. Many people fear that their children will end up with less than they have. Indeed, a large share of the population has felt its perceived welfare decline in recent years. The report expects that differences in how people's prosperity develops could lead to serious social tensions. This anxiety fits the report's broader outlook in which a shrinking workforce, pension and care costs, and large outlays on the energy transition and defence make continued growth in prosperity harder to sustain.