The President of the Commission Supervising the Private Pension System (CSSPP), Mircea Oancea, says "the system is stable from a legal, functional and componential point of view." However, companies administering private pen- sion funds indicated during a conference entitled "Pensiile private: risc sau viitor asigurat?" [Private Pensions: A risk or Secure Future?], organized by Business Standard, that they are struggling to acquaint potential customers with the new system.
Florina Vizinteanu, President and General Manager of BCR Asigurari de Viata, an insurance company controlled by the largest local commercial bank, Banca Comerciala Romana, said the main problem with the pension system reform is overlap of the two private pension systems: mandatory and optional. These two systems are included in the new pension legislation and are meant to relieve the burden on the state pen- sion system, by transferring the administration of part of the mandatory pensions to private companies. BCR Asigurari de Viata is operating in the optional private pension field.
"Employers know nothing about optional pensions. I have just about developed a verbal tick explaining over and over again what the 15 percent maximum subscription of gross salary, and the annual €200 tax deductible means for both employer and employee," Florina Vizinteanu said. The legisla-tion stipulates that premiums paid by individuals may not exceed 15 percent of their gross salary for optional private pensions and that, of that subscription an annual €200 are exemp from taxes.
As for collecting subscriptions from state institution employees, Allianz Tiriac Pensii Private President, Crinu Andanut, said that several clients have complained that employers are unable to send the mandatory private pension contribution to the retirement funds due to a lack of proper software. He added that the resolution of such problems will require funds, which state institutions are hard to obtain. "They have to write a memo to the authority controlling them, and it might take a long time before funding is approved. Meanwhile, the employer may not join a pen- sion fund," Andanut explained.
