Romania's private pension system to reach 6.8 mln contributors this year

The number of contributors to the mandatory private pension system in Romania, also known as the second pillar, is estimated to reach about 6.8 million by the end of this year. The assets under management could reach some EUR 6.9 billion, said Raluca Tintoiu, president of the Private Pension Fund Association in Romania, reports local Agerpres. Tintoiu, who is also the CEO of NN Pensii, the biggest private pension fund in Romania, said that about 3.19 million people had monthly contributions to the second pillar between May 2008 and March 2016. The average value of a private pension account totaled EUR 1,323 at the end of March this year, up 23.4% compared to the same month last year. This year the Government has decided to increase the mandatory private pension contributions by 0.1 percentage point to 5.1% of the gross salary. About 6.7 million people contributed to the second pillar at the end of June, up 4.2% compared to the same month last year. Almost 400,000 Romanians also had an optional pension at the end of June, up 9.2% year-on-year. editor@romania-insider.com