BRATISLAVA, June 29, (WEBNOVINY) — The government of Robert Fico plans to open the second pension pillar for half a year. It should open it for entry and exit of savers from October 1 this year to March 31 of next year. This should be included in a draft amendment to the law on retirement pension saving, which social partners should discuss on Monday. Changes in the second pension pillar are included in a draft bill on social insurance. In its estimate of the impact on public finances, the government expects during those six months that 10 thousand new savers would enter the capitalization pension pillar 60 thousand savers would exit.
Opposition SaS MP and former labor Minister Josef Mihal warned that the opening of the second pension pillar will be accompanied by a reduction of contributions savers pay to the second pillar from 9 percent to 4 percent of the gross wage and an increase in fees savers pay to pension funds. „If the second pension pillar is opened, with the help of a massive propaganda campaign that Prime Minister Fico announced, the third opening of the second pillar can mean a massive outflow of savers,“ warned Mihal. He accused the present government of gradually and systematically destroying the second pension pillar. The former minister also pointed out that the opening of the second pension pillar was included in the legislative proposal at the last moment. The initial draft amendment on social insurance, which was in interdepartmental review, according to Mihal, only contained a provision increasing pensions by a fixed amount. „Suddenly we learn that many additional important provisions were added to the draft amendment,“ said Mihal.
In mid-April, Prime Minister Fico admitted that his government could reopen the second pension pillar. „We will either restore guarantees and pension fund management companies will have to replace any loss they are causing, or we will make another decision, i.e., to open the second pillar and allow people to quit,“ he said as he formally introduced Jan Richter into office of Minister of Labor and Social Affairs. At that time, he did not mention a reduction in the contribution rate to the second pillar from 9 percent to 4 percent.
Fico announced that if the government decides to open the second pillar, it will be accompanied by a campaign. „Perhaps of the same type as pension fund companies used a few years ago to attract savers into the system,“ he said. He added that the government has no interest in making authoritative decisions from a position of power. „We are interested in an agreement with pension fund management companies,“ he said in mid-April.
During the first term of the government of Robert Fico from 2006 to 2010, the second pillar pension was opened twice. For the first time it was in 2008, when 106 thousand savers left the system nearly 23 thousand new savers entered. The second time the capitalization pillar opened was from November 2008 to June 2009. During this period, 66 thousand savers left the second pillar and 14.5 thousand new savers entered. At present 1.45 million people are saving for their pension in private pension fund management companies.
SITA