site.btaPodkrepa TU Wants Waiver of Monthly Fee at Private Pension Funds

Podkrepa TU Wants Waiver of Monthly Fee at Private Pension Funds

Sofia, December 20 (BTA) - The Podkrepa Confederation of Labour wants waiver of the 4.5 per cent fee on each monthly contribution made by the insured at the private pension funds. For this money the people do not receive any service whatsoever from the private funds, Podkrepa President Dimiter Manolov told journalists Tuesday. Until last year the fee was 5.0 per cent.

The trade union also wants waiver of the mandatory collection of the 0.9 annual investment fee and its calculation only in the case of positive financial results. This fee is collected annually, calculated on all the funds of the insured, not only on return, Manolov said. Fees are also collected when the pension companies operate at a loss and the active funds shrink, as it happened in the year of crisis 2008.

All fees withheld in 2002 amounted to 12.4 million leva while in the last reported year (2015) they already amounted to 140.4 million leva. The increase is due to the fact that employed continue to make contributions to the pension funds and fees are calculated on them.

The assets of the private pension funds already amount to 10,400 million leva according to data from the third quarter of 2016. Nearly 1,000 million leva have been calculated on them or a profit of 8.75 per cent for the private funds. This can only be compared to drug dealing, Manolov said.

Podkrepa wants the top management of the pension insurance funds to declare their incomes before the Audit Office.