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The government will discuss on Friday a draft law on the payment of private pensions, 17 years after the establishment of Romania’s Pillar II pension system. This law will replace the current provisional system.
Currently, participants in private and voluntary pension schemes can either withdraw the entire amount—paying income tax on gains and health contributions (CASS) on the difference exceeding 3,000 lei—or opt for scheduled withdrawals in equal amounts (60 installments) over a maximum of five years.
Under the new proposal, participants will have two options: scheduled withdrawals or a lifetime annuity. The option to withdraw the entire accumulated amount will be eliminated. Participants will be able to withdraw a maximum of 25% of the total, but no longer the full amount.
Scheduled withdrawals mean the participant will receive a fixed monthly pension over a defined period. If the participant dies before the amount is fully paid, the remaining funds will be inherited by their beneficiaries.
Lifetime annuity means the pension is paid throughout the participant’s lifetime, based on calculations using statistical indicators such as life expectancy and mortality. This pension is likely to have a lower monthly value.
Context:
Mandatory private pension funds (Pillar II) had assets totaling 166.2 billion lei at the end of May 2025—up 19% from the same period in 2024, according to the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF). Voluntary pension funds (Pillar III) held 6.1 billion lei in assets—up 21% from May 2024.
Contributions collected in May 2025 for Pillar II totaled 1.95 billion lei, with an average contribution of 430 lei. For Pillar III, contributions reached 77.7 million lei in May, with an average contribution of 169 lei.
ASF reported that Pillar II had 8,347,560 participants in May 2025. Pillar III had 899,342 participants during the same month.
Pillar II funds: Metropolitan Life, Aripi, AZT Viitorul Tău, BCR, BRD, NN, and Vital
Pillar III funds: AZT Moderato, AZT Vivace, BCR Plus, Pensia Mea Plus, Esențial, NN Activ, NN Optim, Pensia Mea, Raiffeisen Acumulare, and Stabil
Total payments made to participants so far amount to approximately 4 billion lei for Pillar II and 870 million lei for Pillar III.
Each month, between 150 and 200 million lei is paid out across both pillars. By the end of July, total payments likely exceeded 5.1 billion lei—the equivalent of 1 billion euros—paid out to private pension contributors.
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