“THIRD PILLAR” IN THE POLISH PENSION SYSTEM
According to the assumptions of the pension system reform implemented in Poland in 1998, the objective of the voluntary “third pillar” was to increase the replacement rate with additional individual contributions. This objective has failed: only a small percentage of eligible persons have accumulated a small amount of assets in this segment. Changes in the operation of open-end pension funds OFEs introduced in 2014 have resulted in the fully funded pillar of the pension system ceasing to be a solution of a universal nature. Therefore, in this situation it is very important and necessary to develop the third pillar of voluntary pension savings.
In the construction of the target third pillar in Poland, it would be a good idea to build on the experience of other countries. The article presents recommendations by OECD experts on how to construct a voluntary fully funded pillar of the pension system. It also demonstrates the criteria for evaluating the existing pension systems. The author has described what he considers to be the most effective solutions for stimulating voluntary savings. Particular attention has been paid to verifying which specific key system variables lead to the establishment of an effective voluntary pillar of pension savings. The article also presents inspiring examples from the US market: the “myRA” retirement accounts and the “Save more tomorrow” program. A number of interesting conclusions have also been drawn from the analysis of the most recent pension system reform in the UK.
The purpose of the article is to present a proposal for supplementing the existing pillar of voluntary pension savings so that it becomes an important contribution to increasing future retirement benefits. The new proposed solution is based on the introduction of automatic enrollment of employees in a licensed retirement product. The State should support the development of such a product through a system of incentives with preferential treatment of average and lower earners. It is recommended to keep the existing reliefs applicable to individual IKE and IKZE products and to strengthen the incentives applicable to employee pension plans in favor of employees and employers. The key elements of the proposed solution are employers and pension fund companies PTEs managing voluntary pension funds. It is recommended to apply a tender mechanism to automatic enrollment of employees in saving programs to improve the competitiveness of operation of the whole market.