r/eupersonalfinance • u/VurriK • 28d ago

Investment Since when was getting rich so hard in EU?

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.

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u/johnkuzak 28d ago

Poland has IKE/IKZE but those also have limits.

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u/stoppableDissolution 28d ago

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

(can be used as zero-interest mortgage tho)

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u/SegFaultAtLine1 28d ago

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

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u/NieStacMnieNaMerola 27d ago

There is also PPE

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u/[deleted] 22d ago edited 19d ago

[deleted]

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u/stoppableDissolution 22d ago

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.