A survey released Monday showed that Taiwanese people are saving money or making investment plans in preparation for life after retirement earlier than four years ago as they have less confidence in the deficit-ridden government pension program.

According to the survey, conducted by National Chengchi University’s (NCCU’s) Department of Risk Management and Insurance and Taiwan Life Insurance Co., respondents said they would start saving money for retirement at an average age of 37.87, compared with 43.29 in the 2016 version of the survey.

The survey also reveals that people estimated it would take 21 years to save enough money for retirement, compared with 15 years in the 2016 survey.

Meanwhile, 38.89 percent of survey respondents who have not yet retired said they would start saving money and/or making investment plans for retirement between the ages of 30-39, an indication the younger generation are less confident about having enough money to live on after retirement.

The survey also showed that people have less confidence in the government’s debt-ridden government pension program.

Respondents ranked the sustainability of the government pension system an average 50 points out of 100. Previous studies have shown that the nation’s labor insurance retirement pension system could go bankrupt in 2026. In preparation for retirement, survey respondents said they are willing to put NT$15,086 per month in their saving accounts or in investments, up 73 percent from NT$8,685 a year earlier, this year’s survey showed.

Also, nearly 60 percent of respondents would choose to put their money in the stock market or bonds, followed by time deposits and insurance policies, in preparation for retirement.

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