Mandatory private pensions: 2 1/2-month official results

Over 2.6 million employees under 45 have joined one of the 18 mandatory private pension funds (pillar II) within the first two and a half months since the start of the sales campaign, according to data from the National Pensions and Social Security Office (CNPAS). At the same time, the number of invalid contracts after the fifth bimonthly report (out of a total of eight) stood at around 25,000, according to the same source. The 18 mandatory private pension managers reported over 424,000 contracts to the CNPAS in the bimonthly report on December 3, of which almost 400,000 were temporarily validated. Multiple signatures and errors, i.e. invalid contracts, account for the difference. Compared with over 2.6 million valid contracts, multiple signatures account for just 0.96%. Data indicates sales of mandatory pensions have seen a significant slowdown lately. In the most recent report, the number of validated clients numbered less than 400,000- the lowest figure reported so far. Moreover, management companies expect sales to continue to slowdown before the winter holidays and finally peak in the period up to January 17 2008 – the end date of the initial sales campaign.