Starting from January 1st, 2007, private pensions will be introduced, coinciding with the probable collection of the first contributions to optional pension funds, announced Mihai Seitan, head of the National Pensions Office (Casa Nationala de Pensii-CNPAS).
In the first year, collected contributions will amount to around 500 million euros, says Seitan. The first private pension schemes to be introduced are optional (the so-called Pillar III), to which any person getting "professional income", from work, can contribute. After paying a contribution of maximum 15% of their monthly income for at least 9 years, contributors to this system are entitled to a pension, said the head of the CNPAS, during a private pensions workshop organised by FinMedia and Generali Asigurari.
"The system of private optional pensions must not discriminate against anybody," considers Mihai Seitan. At present, according with the proposed law, anybody deriving income from work is allowed to enter Pillar III, while persons getting income from other sources (dividends, rents, etc) can invest in mutual funds or insurance policies.
The next step for private pensions is related to the implementation of privately managed pensions (pillar II), due, at the earliest, for the summer of 2007. "Unfortunately, the state of the IT system used for collecting contributions does not allow for the inclusion and introduction of pillar II ahead of the pillar of optional pensions," said Seitan.
Pillar II pension schemes are related to the transfer of a part (starting with 2% and rising progressively to 6%) of contributions currently paid to the public pension system to privately managed funds.
For the first year, when the two private pension systems will be operating simultaneously, authorities estimate that contributions worth 500 million euros will be collected. For now, officials and representatives of potential investors have not agreed on the assets pension funds will invest collected contributions in.
While Mihai Seitan of CNPAS considers investment in government bonds and mortgage bonds are needed, the representatives of insurers and of the capital market say investments in equity are primarily needed, for high yields. mihai.bobocea@zf.ro
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