A pension from the public system alone may not be enough to maintain the standard of living from the period of professional activity. Forecasts citing ZUS and European Commission calculations show that the replacement rate is expected to decline in the coming decades – therefore additional saving under the third pillar is no longer a luxury, but becomes a necessity.
One of the most interesting tools for long-term saving for retirement is IKE, i.e Individual Retirement Account. This is a voluntary form of saving in the third pillar, which can be set up by a natural person after the age of 16, but each person can only have one IKE, and the account can be kept, among others, in a bank, brokerage house, investment fund, insurance company or voluntary pension fund.
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The biggest advantage of IKE is that if we meet the statutory payment conditions, we will not pay the 19% interest. Belka's tax on capital gains. This is why IKE is sometimes called a “tax wrapper” for a long-term investor.
ETFs fit into retirement
ETFs are clearly gaining popularity as a form of long-term saving. This is not just a global trend – the WSE itself informs that since the beginning of 2025, the turnover of ETFs on the Warsaw Stock Exchange has reached PLN 1.9 billion, which meant an increase of 94.2%. year to year.
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The reason is quite obvious. ETFs allow you to easily build a broadly diversified portfolio, are transparent, listed on stock exchanges like stocks, usually have lower fees than traditional actively managed funds, and provide high liquidity thanks to the presence of a market maker.
For someone who has been saving for retirement for 20, 30 or 40 years, these qualities are invaluable: fewer costs mean more capital working on compound interest, and high diversification reduces the risk that one bad decision will affect the entire result.
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In practice, ETF fits well into the IKE logic because it combines simplicity with discipline. An investor can purchase units regularly without trying to guess every short-term market move, and build a retirement portfolio step by step.
Bitcoin for retirement? Yes, but rather as an addition
Bitcoin has been in the news for several years, and it's no wonder – it's an asset that can both grow spectacularly and rapidly lose value in a short period of time. Even issuers of exchange-traded products based on bitcoin emphasize that we are talking about an asset with a very high level of risk. In the case of BETA ETF Bitcoin, the highest risk level was 7/7 and the recommended investment horizon was five years.
That doesn't mean, however, that bitcoin, by definition, has no place in a retirement portfolio. He may have them, but rather as a small, satellite part of the portfolio, not its foundation. With retirement in mind, its pros and cons are as follows: on the one hand gives exposure to a new asset class, is sometimes treated as an element of diversification and has the potential for above-average rates of return; on the other hand is characterized by extreme volatility and is difficult to value classically.
ETF or ETN for cryptocurrencies in IKE. Convenience has its price
The previously mentioned ETF and bitcoin can be combined, which removes some of the technical barriers typical for direct purchase of cryptocurrencies. The investor does not have to create an account on a cryptocurrency exchange, store private keys or worry about operational issues related to the wallet — the exposure is purchased through a regular brokerage account, in regulated stock exchange trading.
This model has several strengths: simplicity, easier settlements, transparency, trading on a regulated market and the possibility of including the instrument in a broader investment portfolio. But there are also disadvantages. Firstly, by purchasing a bitcoin ETF or ETN, we do not become the owner of “pure” bitcoin in the same sense as when purchasing an asset for your own portfolio. Second, they appear management costs and the risk that the result of the instrument will not perfectly match the behavior of the spot market.
Is such a solution available on the Warsaw Stock Exchange? Yes, for example, the BETA Bitcoin ETF is listed, which gives exposure to bitcoin through CME futures contracts. There are also listed crypto ETNs issued by Virtune – for bitcoin, ethereum, XRP and solan – i.e. instruments of a different type than the classic ETF, but also providing stock exchange exposure to digital assets.
This is an important distinction: if someone talks today about a “crypto ETF on the WSE”, in practice they should check whether it is a bitcoin futures ETF or an ETN physically secured with cryptocurrencies.
Application? An ETF or ETN for cryptocurrencies in IKE may be an interesting addition to a retirement portfolio, but it should not replace its solid core, based on widely diversified assets. The most important thing in retirement is the repeatability and resilience of the plan, and bitcoin – even when packaged in a convenient exchange-traded instrument – remains an asset for those who clearly understand the price paid for the potential for above-average profit.
Note: The information contained in the text is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an investment recommendation, information recommending or suggesting an investment strategy within the meaning of applicable regulations, or any other form of advice regarding the purchase or sale of financial products.
