Pension funds see marked slowdown

The number of new contributors to voluntary pension funds (pillar III) has plummeted over the past nine months, since the crisis began, reaching a minimum of 2,100 new participants in June, down from a peak of 10,430 last December. According to data released by the Private Pension System Supervisory Commission (CSSPP), the voluntary pension market registered a total number of almost 170,000 persons in June, from 110,000 in June 2008. The number of Romanians who resorted to this long-term saving method together with their employers remains at a very low level compared to Romania’s population, of over 20 million inhabitants. “I believe figures are clearly showing pillar III market growth has considerably slowed down because of the financial crisis. (…) I believe the main reason for this contraction is related to the troubles companies have been coping with,” says Besim Jawad, general manager of Eureko Pensii. Moreover, the number of new contributors was also “propped” by the new pension funds entering the market, Jawad specified. The voluntary pension market is dominated by 3 major managers, Allianz-Tiriac Pensii-Private, BCR Asigurari de Viata and ING Asigurari de Viata, which accounted for 90% of the overall number of participants and almost 90% of total assets in the first half of the year.