BRATISLAVA, November 4, (WEBNOVINY) — Social insurance transfers from contributions that employers pay on behalf of their employees to the third [voluntary] pension pillar will not be introduced after all. “It seems that we will reintroduce an exception in the law, according to which contributions that employers pay to the third pension pillar on behalf of their employees will not be included in the assessment base of employees,” said Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Jozef Mihal on Thursday. This means that no social insurance levies will be imposed on contributions that employers pay to supplemental pension saving as of January 1 of next year. The radical measure that we suggested will thus be softened by this exception,” he confirmed. Coalition MPs will propose reintroduction of this exception in social contributions in the Cabinet’s their proposal for a revision to social insurance bill.
Ruling coalition MP Ludovit Kanik (SDKU-DS) indicated during the parliamentary discussion that coalition deputies would alter the tabled draft bill in the second reading. He thinks that payment of social insurance contributions from employer contributions to the third pension pillar would be absurd.
A petition against government interventions in the system of supplemental [voluntary] pension saving has been signed by over 160,000 people in less than three weeks, the petition committee and the Association of Supplemental Pension Companies (ADDS) informed. The petition committee has thus met its goal to collect more than 100,000 signatures. The committee handed the petition over to the Slovak Parliament. The petition reacts to the draft revision to the law on social insurance that proposes inclusion of the whole taxable income of employees including contributions that employers pay on their behalf to the third pension pillar in the assessment base to calculate payroll levies. Such a revision would liquidate the third pension pillar in its present form, according to ADDS.
Five supplemental pension companies are presently active in the Slovak market of supplemental pension saving, namely DDS ING Tatry-Sympatia, DDS Tatra Banky, DDS Stabilita, DDS AXA and DDS Aegon. All five companies administrate clients’ savings exceeding EUR 1.13 billion.
SITA