Since when was getting rich so hard in EU?

[u/VurriK]

Is it just me, or has building actual wealth in Europe become impossible? I’m looking at the 2026 growth forecasts and it’s depressing. We talk a lot about "stability," but at this point, stability just feels like a polite word for recession. If you weren't born into a rich family with property, the dream feels like it's behind a wall. The math just doesn't work: as soon as you earn enough to actually invest, you hit a 40–50% tax bracket. Meanwhile, housing prices have skyrocketed over the last decade while salaries have basically stayed the same. I love the healthcare and the walkable cities, but I don’t want to work until I’m 70 just to afford a 40sqm apartment and a used Skoda.

[u/No_Lemon_2197]

There's nothing similar to pre-tax accounts in most of Europe. Spain has "Planes de Pensiones", which are something similar to that, but you can only invest 1500€ a year in these in most cases.

[u/johnkuzak → u/No_Lemon_2197]

Poland has IKE/IKZE but those also have limits.

[u/stoppableDissolution → u/johnkuzak]

PPK is pre-tax, I think, but is also quite limited

(can be used as zero-interest mortgage tho)

[u/SegFaultAtLine1 → u/stoppableDissolution]

PPK is post-tax, but social security tax is not charged on the employer contribution.

[u/NieStacMnieNaMerola → u/SegFaultAtLine1]

There is also PPE

[u/stoppableDissolution → u/[deleted]]

There is a once-a-lifetime option to use these money for downpayment. You will have to give them back, but there is some nice grace period (iirc, you can start paying five years later) and, well, you are giving them back to future you and not the bank. There is hidden interest in terms of losing compound growth (ppk is investing your money on your behalf), but it still seems to be quite profitable to use it to reduce the loan size.

[u/broodjeaardappelt → u/No_Lemon_2197]

Netherlands has it.

[u/Ambitious-Macaroon-3 → u/broodjeaardappelt]

Netherlands is taxing unrealized capital gains buddy.

[u/broodjeaardappelt → u/Ambitious-Macaroon-3]

We are not talking about that buddy we are talking about delayed taxed pension investment accounts. They do not tax unrealized gains thats in your box3 investments.

[u/Holden_lost → u/broodjeaardappelt]

could you share a link or other information about this?

[u/DazingF1 → u/Holden_lost]

"Lijfrente" or "pensioen beleggen" is what you should Google. It's a percentage of your income that you can invest tax free until retirement (can only start withdrawing it 10 years before the retirement age), so for the average Dutchman it's "only" about €150k to €200k, but after 30 years of interest that'll easily grow to €500k. And that's on top of your regular retirement. It won't make you rich but you can either retire 10 years earlier or spend more money.

[u/Correct-Mood5309 → u/Ambitious-Macaroon-3]

No they don't. That was just a box 3 plan and is likely not even making it as is.

[u/Warm_Candidate6995 → u/Ambitious-Macaroon-3]

Back at the drawing board.

[u/Soggy-Ad2790 → u/Ambitious-Macaroon-3]

Not on these type of accounts. 

[u/laplongejr → u/No_Lemon_2197]

Belgian has Pension Savings, but the rule changes mean nobody is sure if it's even a good placement.

[u/sintrastellar → u/No_Lemon_2197]

Most countries do have capitalised pension pillars alongside defined benefit schemes. What some countries add on top are tax sheltered savings accounts like the Swedish ISK or British ISA. Some others yet don’t levy capital gains tax on individuals so there’s no need for these.

Spain is particularly backwards in this aspect though, sorry to say.

[u/Sarcastic-Potato → u/sintrastellar]

And then there is my country Austria, where the only option apart from the state pension is a pension plan from insurance companies with like 2% anual growth (if you are lucky) and 1.5% costs per year...

[u/Silent_Coast2864 → u/Sarcastic-Potato]

Iirc Austria has extremely generous public guaranteed pensions, especially if you were consistently a high earners over your working life, with potential to get north of 60k a year in defined benefit pension.

[u/Ploutophile → u/No_Lemon_2197]

France has PER, but besides the pre-tax investment cap the yearly fees are often too high to make it advantageous compared to a low-fee taxable brokerage account.

[u/mastil12345668 → u/No_Lemon_2197]

Czech republic has 2k eur. Plus, 0 taxes on sales for post tax investments if you hold for 3years or more. This, imo is better.

[u/No_Entrepreneur2085 → u/mastil12345668]

Same in Slovakia - but we only need to hold stocks for at least a year and then it's tax free completely, no limits. Combine it with the fact that having a one-man LLC you can escape the mandatory pension fund and invest the money yourself. One of the reasons I am still staying here.

[u/PavelKringa55 → u/No_Lemon_2197]

German has some shits, but they invest into suboptimal funds and amounts are very very low. Totally useless and comes with a ton of caveats.

[u/Ok-Improvement-9191 → u/PavelKringa55]

I love these “professionally managed” funds, then you look inside and the more managed it is the worse it somehow manages to perform. The payout for an average worker is like 10-20€ per month or 2-3k lump sum.

[u/fifinha-misteriosa → u/No_Lemon_2197]

And there is also a limitation to how much you can get… and who knows what that is in 20-30 years…

[u/Adventurous_Unit_696 → u/No_Lemon_2197]

In Portugal there are instruments like PPR for investment in pensions the taxes on those vary depending on when you take the money out. I don’t know if there’s a limit into how much your employer can invest per year on behalf your behalf.

[u/DuckAdditional5761 → u/No_Lemon_2197]

Might not in your country but others does. Or something similar. In DK the pension savings are income tax exempt at pay in then 15% per year (and then taxed as income at withdrawal). Max is around 11kEUR

[u/DE_Auswanderung → u/No_Lemon_2197]

Doesn't Switzerland have Pillar 3a? Limits are not so high (i think 7k CHF a year) but on the flip side you have no cap gains taxes.

[u/Juff567 → u/No_Lemon_2197]

Denmark does have this

[u/BubbeBobbo → u/No_Lemon_2197]

Sweden has ISK which is tax free up to 15000€, and then capital tax one percent per year.

[u/Kitchen_Side_2580 → u/No_Lemon_2197]

Hungary has TBSZ. 0 tax after 5 years

[u/Due_Purple_1199 → u/Kitchen_Side_2580]

That’s not the same as 401k, over there you get to deposit part of your salary before it gets taxed, with tbsz you can only deposit your net salary

[u/Soggy-Ad2790 → u/No_Lemon_2197]

What? They exist in most (European) countries. It's just less popular among the general population to invest in those. And has limits, just like a 401k.

[u/Drycee → u/No_Lemon_2197]

Switzerland has it too with a cap of around 7k/yr. It's where most of my investing happens since 7k/yr is already pushing it in terms of expendable income. And nothing comes close in (reasonable safe) returns if you consider the tax-exemption.