Getting the Savings and Investment Union Right
A practical perspective on how the EU can unlock household savings, strengthen capital markets, and support long-term growth.
The European Union (EU) has an opportunity. Approximately €10 trillion[1] in household savings sits in low-return deposits across the EU – capital that could be working harder for both EU citizens and the strategic priorities that the EU needs to fund. Mobilising even a fraction of these assets and turning them into long-term investment could help to strengthen household financial resilience, deepen EU capital markets, and help finance the energy, defence and digital infrastructure required for a secure and sustainable future for the EU. The Savings and Investment Union (SIU) seeks to make this happen.
Marsh believes the goals of the SIU could be supported via the creation of an EU-wide harmonised savings scheme. This would be governed under a common framework and available across all member states. EU Commission Recommendation 2025/2029 advocates for the introduction in EU member states of such schemes.[2]
To succeed, in our view, any new savings schemes must be simple, tax-advantaged, digitally accessible, and consistent across member states (potentially to the point of being fully portable across borders). Above all, they must be easy for citizens to understand and use.
Three key recommendations
The products should be simple and understandable. One option would be to launch “white-labelled” risk-rated multi-asset products, which invest in a range of investment instruments/assets/funds. As assets grow the investment universe of these products could be evolved. Over time, this could direct an increasing share of capital towards the energy, defence, digital and industrial sectors that underpin Europe's competitiveness and resilience. This should be viewed as a multi-year ambition rather than a day-one design requirement.
Recent analysis from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) reinforces this approach. This shows that retail participation is constrained not by a single obstacle but by a combination of regulatory and non-regulatory barriers. Successful international models demonstrate the value of simplicity. Sweden's Investeringssparkonto (ISK) and the United Kingdom's Individual Savings Account (ISA) differ in structure, but both have achieved broad adoption through straightforward design, clear tax treatment and ease of use.
The aim of simplicity could be achieved in a number of ways. For example: permissible contributions could accumulate free from tax on both income generated and investment growth, subject to annual contribution limits. Ideally, a single account should be portable across providers and switching between products should be seamless. These measures should be supported by a coordinated programme of financial education and engagement.
Why this matters
In our view, the SIU represents a generational structural shift in how EU citizens engage with saving and investing, transforming inert savings into productive capital, strengthening household financial resilience and supporting Europe’s long term economic and strategic priorities.
While there are undoubtedly issues to be considered, details to be agreed and steps to be followed in designing and rolling out a successful EU wide savings framework, Marsh believes the size of the prize, and the importance of the project, is potentially transformative.
