4% decrease in Pillar 2 in March. Why Romanians have less money in their accounts and why experts say that “the money has not disappeared”
Recently, several Romanians have noticed a decrease in their personal funds from Pillar 2 of mandatory private pensions, which are about 3-4% lower in March than in February 2026.
Many Romanians have noticed a decrease in personal funds from Pillar 2. Photo Shutterstock
According to the information obtained by “Adevărul”, in February 2026 the net personal asset of an employee was 149,965.02 lei, while in March 2026 it reached 144,502.7 lei. The difference indicates a decrease of approximately 5,462 lei from one month to another. This variation reflects the evolution of the fund unit value, specific to long-term investments, and not necessarily a decrease in transferred contributions.
In another case, personal funds decreased in March compared to February by 2,437 lei.
The experts consulted by “Adevărul” explained why this happened and why it should not be a cause for concern.
Such fluctuations are natural in the short term
Economist Radu Nechita explained to “Adevărul” that such fluctuations are natural in the short term, the long-term yield being important.
“That's what happens with funds invested in the stock market. Sometimes financial securities go down in the short term. During that time, the transferred amounts buy cheaper securities. Later, when the stock market recovers, they will have more securities whose value will increase. In a pension fund, in any fund, long-term performance matters. Stock portfolios beat bond portfolios. The recommendation is 60% stocks (they go up, but they can also go down more) and 40% bonds (they don't decrease much, but they don't increase much either and are gnawed by inflation). That is, the opposite of the portfolios from P2, where more than 2/3 if not 3/4 are money lent to the state, the government, Romanian politicians”said Radu Nechita for “Adevărul”.
“The money hasn't disappeared”
For his part, data analyst Silviu Gresoi, an expert in finance-banks, told “Adevărul” that “the money didn't disappear”.
“Pillar 2 money is not gone. What people saw in March is a drop in value, not a drop in contributions. Pension funds invest the money in government bonds and the stock market, and when those investments go down, the value of the account goes down temporarily.
What we must remember is that Pillar 2 is not a bank deposit, it is an investment fund. This means that there are months when the value increases and months when it decreases. The problem is that people look from one month to the next, when in fact these funds should be analyzed by years, not months.
Three-month profit made by Pillar 2 and 3 pensions “evaporated” due to political instability
In addition, the contributions come in about two months apart, and this creates confusion: people see that money has been transferred, but at the same time the total value decreases because of the market. In short, we are not talking about lost money, but a normal market fluctuation”explained Silviu Gresoi for “Adevărul”.
ASF: In March, markets were volatile because of the war in Iran
The Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) explained, at the request of “Adevărul”, the reasons for these decreases in funds from Pillar 2.
According to the FSA, the value of individual accounts is calculated according to the number of fund units owned by the participant and the value of the fund unit on that day. The value of the net asset unit (VUAN) is calculated by the administrator and the depository of the private pension fund daily, according to the price evolution of the financial instruments in which the assets of the private pension fund are invested.
“The prices of financial instruments vary according to the macroeconomic context at the international level. Thus, in March 2026, international markets experienced high volatility caused by the start of the war in Iran, which led to a sharp increase in the price of oil with immediate effects at the level of all financial instruments, with generalized decreases in prices being recorded. However, this represents a momentary, conjunctural situation, in the past there were similar situations, such as the sovereign debt crisis of 2011, the pandemic COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, the decreases recorded in those moments being remedied in a relatively short time, privately managed pension funds registering a historical maximum in 2025. Thus, in the period 2024-2025, all assets of privately managed pension funds registered an increase of 33.62%, and in 2025 the highest value of profit was recorded since the establishment of the system“, explained ASF.
The authority emphasized that private pension funds are long-term investors, and their investment policy is drawn up considering their long-term investment horizon and taking into account the contribution period of 30-40 years in the privately managed pension system. Through a prudent and conservative investment policy, the managers of privately managed pension funds reduce investment risks by diversifying their portfolios taking into account all types of investments allowed by the legislation in force, such as: government securities, corporate bonds, municipal bonds, supranational bonds, deposits, mutual funds, etc.
How “safe” are government securities on the stock market
Even though government bonds are traditionally considered very safe investments, when traded on the stock market they can present a certain degree of risk. Their safety derives from the fact that the government guarantees the payment of interest and the return of capital at maturity, which means that if you hold them to the end, losses are very unlikely.
Pensioners point out that Pillar 2 benefits the state, not the employees
But the problem arises when pension funds or individual investors track the value of securities on the secondary market, that is, on the stock exchange. Their price fluctuates constantly depending on the evolution of interest rates, market supply and demand or general economic factors.
For example, if new securities appear with higher interest rates, the price of the old ones falls, even though they will pay in full at maturity. This volatility is directly reflected in the value of a Pillar II participant's account, generating temporary dips that can give the impression of losses, although the investment remains safe in the long term.
Thus, exchange-traded government securities are safe as a final payment, but can be volatile in the short term, which explains why private pension funds can experience monthly variations in the value of the fund unit.
When did personal private pension funds decrease?
Private mandatory pension funds from Pillar II in Romania recorded decreases (negative returns or temporary decreases in assets) in moments of high volatility of the financial markets, the most notable periods being:
- Year 2022 (Average decrease of 3.4% – 4.4%): This was the first year in the 14-15-year history of the system in which Pillar II ended the year in the red, according to ASF and APAPR data, caused by rising inflation and interest rates, which affected the price of government securities (where the funds have more than 60% of assets) and shares.
- Periods of geopolitical/political turbulence (eg end of 2021/early 2022): In November 2021 and early 2022, the funds saw temporary declines caused by economic uncertainties and the conflict in Ukraine, which influenced the stock market.
- Fall 2024 (Post-Election Developments): Following some political turmoil at the end of 2024, the funds suffered a temporary “unmarked loss”, which was later recovered.
These declines are, for the most part, “unmarked losses” (paper value declines), not actual losses, because the funds do not sell the securities at a loss, but wait for them to recover.
Pillar II has a positive historical performance (an average of over 7-8% per year over 16-17 years of operation), beating inflation, and annual declines are rare.
At the end of 2025, the funds recovered the losses from 2022, even registering a record return of 19.2%.
