This cautionary finding emerged from a unique survey of BNP Paribas Cardif confidence index conducted by IPSOS for the insurance company. In this context, it is not surprising that mental illness is the main cause of disability pensions for young people in the Czech Republic. Czechs aged 45+, on the other hand, feel emotionally stable; 80 percent of them in the cited research say they consider themselves mentally healthy.
Mental illnesses are increasingly common. They affect people’s personal and professional lives. According to data from the Czech Social Security Agency and the Czech Statistical Office, the average length of incapacity for work due to mental illness was 82 days in 2023; one in four Czechs has a disability pension due to a mental disorder. Mental illnesses are thus becoming the second most common cause of disability pension. Their growth has not stopped recently and they are even starting to approach the first most common cause, which is diseases of the skeletal and muscular system.
How is the younger generation in particular? Statistics from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic show that the group of diagnoses of mental and behavioural disorders is characterised by the highest proportion of disabilities awarded at a younger age.
“Young people feel much more insecure than older people. They are affected by issues such as the climate crisis or wars. Our BNP Paribas Cardif Confidence Index research last autumn showed that there is also high uncertainty and concern about housing. More than half of young Czechs aged 18 to 24 are afraid of never owning their own home. The index also shows us a huge intergenerational gap in mental health. Compared to the one-third of young people who say they are mentally ill, people aged 45 to 65 feel 80 percent mentally healthy,” says Zdeněk Jaroš, CEO and Chairman of the Board of BNP Paribas Cardif Pojistovna.
At the same time, it is very worrying that mental illness is the fastest growing cause of disability pension and care allowance awards. Thus, many young people face a situation where they are awarded a disability pension as a result of a mental disorder but do not receive the appropriate financial contribution due to insufficient years of service. In the case of financial commitments, appropriate insurance is therefore needed to ensure that clients are adequately covered for any loss of income, including due to mental illness.
Source: BNP Paribas Cardif Pojistovna and CTK
