More and more employers are offering private pension Pillar III to keep their employees. How much money can Romanians have at retirement

Against the background of the increasing pressure on the public pension system, but also of the competitiveness in the labor market, the employers in Romania include in more and more cases the contribution to the optional private pension in the wage package.

More and more employers offer private pension Pillar III

The interest of companies to grant this benefit is increasing, including among SMEs, as experts for “Adevărul” said.

According to the data of an insurance company, there is an average annual increase of 10% -15% of the number of companies that include the contribution to the private pension III in the package of wage benefits. Most often the companies opt for the tax deductible amount of 400 euros/year per employee, with an average monthly contribution of 30-35 euros/employee. If in the past this benefit was offered mainly by multinational companies, in recent years it is offered by local companies, including SMEs, from various fields.

“Although the private pension Pillar III is not an equally popular extrasalarial benefit as mass tickets or subscription to medical clinics, companies are increasingly interested in including in the salary package and we see an easy increase from year to year. Starting to include optional private pensions Pillar III in the benefits packages to differentiate themselves in the labor market, so that they can attract the best candidates and to loyalize their employees.

There are more and more cases in which the company offers this benefit within the tax deductible, 400 euros per year, with the possibility that employees also contribute to this amount, within 15% of their gross income. Usually, employees with a net salary of over 7,000 lei (1,400 euros) are more interested in being co-payers for the contribution to the optional pension Pillar III“, Explained for”truth”Adrian Stancu, founder of The Brokers Romania.

Such a benefit helps companies reduce staff fluctuation and recruitment and training costs. It is a small investment, but with a high yield in the stability and success of a business. The optional pension is perceived as a long -term benefit, and the employees who receive it are more likely to stay in the company. It can also be used as a motivation tool, conditioning the contribution of seniority in the company or performance.

Increasing the threshold of tax deductibility would be beneficial

The deductibility ceiling, of 400 euros/year of employee, has not been increased since 2009, which decreased the attractiveness of the system and discouraged the additional saving for old age. Thus, the increase of tax deductibility for Pillar III will encourage both individuals and companies to contribute for additional income to withdraw from the activity, while reducing the pressure on the public pension system, says the specialist.

“In an increasingly competitive labor market, companies that offer additional benefits such as optional pension Pillar III are perceived by candidates. We see that, in this 'battle' for talents, companies come with offers that often exceed the threshold of deductibility and, for this reason, I am convinced that increasing the ceiling over the current limit of 400 euros would increase the appetite of companies to access this type of benefit and not only“Adds Adrian Stancu.

How much money the Romanians will have through the private pension III

The efficiency of the optional pension funds is between 4% and 7%. At a simple calculation, at a net salary of 7,000 lei (gross approx. 12,000 lei), with a contribution to the maximum of 15% of the gross, the monthly contribution will be 1,344 lei. Per year it would be a total amount of 16,128 lei. Reported to the 30 -year contribution, we are talking about almost 484,000 lei (almost 97,000 euros), without taking into account the increase of the salary over time and the yield of this investment. Definitely, Romanians will have a much larger amount at retirement, which they can completely withdraw at that time, over the years.

To a contribution within the limit of 400 euros deductible per year, ie somewhere at 164 lei/month, an employee contributes about 60,000 lei after 30 years of contribution. At a yield of 4%, the accumulated amount will be over 110,000 lei, according to the optional private pension computers. If it pays 500 lei a month, after 30 years it would contribute with about 180,000 lei, and at a 4% yield the accumulated amount would be almost 340,000 lei.

Romanians expect to live 90 years

In the conditions of an economic context, it is important for Romanians to think about their financial future. Romanians should take into account the allocation of a percentage of the monthly salary, for example 10%, the amount to be invested for pensions, throughout the professional activity, recommends the specialist Adrian Stancu.

According to a recent study, one of two Romanians are expected to live 90 years, but only 26% of them take action to ensure their financial future. However, the number of those who register for the optional pension Pillar III is increasing, in 2024 a record being reached. Also, in the last 3 years the number of requests from authorized persons to carry out an independent activity and persons who make income from professional or agricultural activities increases.

The year 2024 was the best performing year in the 16 -year history of the private pension system. About 133,000 Romanians began to save in 2024 to save for the age of withdrawal from the field of work through the optional private pension funds (Pillar III), 40% more than in 2023, representing a historical record for the number of newly at the system in one year, according to the data of the Association for Pensions Administered in Romania (APAP).

The total number of participants in the optional pension funds reached almost 833,000 at the end of 2024. Last year, they turned to personal accounts in Pillar 3 contributions in a total value of 752 million lei, 25% more than in 2023.

The total amounts administered by Pillar 3 (net assets) exceeded 5.5 billion lei (1.1 billion euros) at the end of 2024, with 17% increasing compared to 2023, a historical maximum for Pillar III.