Minister Vasilescu: Pension Pillar II to become optional for contributors

The minister of labor, Lia Olguta Vasilescu, says that contributions on pension Pillar II, which is managed by private administrators, will become optional for individual payers.

Vasilescu says that she wants to have the right to opt as a contributor to pension funds. “I want to have this option and I believe that anyone should have this right,” said Vasilescu during an interview at Romania TV.

The minister said that there are no plans to “nationalize” the pillar, but the government will explain to the more than 7 million contributors what are the forecasts regarding their future pension amounts.

“A portion of the contribution from pension Pillar I is taken to ensure this pension on Pillar II. So, there are many things that we have to explain to people to understand,” said Vasilescu.

The pension Pillar II had funds of more than EUR 8.5 billion at the end of 2017, according to the Financial Supervision Authority (ASF).