Romanians have saved over €30bn in the country’s second pillar pension system, according to the Association for Privately Administered Pensions in Romania (APAPR).

At the end of 2024, the seven mandatory pension funds of pillar 2 had a total of €30.3bn, up 19 per cent compared to the end of 2023 – a record return for the pension system.

Of the €30.3bn, almost 30 per cent represents the net gain obtained from investments made by private pension fund administrators – €8.9bn – in addition to the contributions received in administration.

Around 8.3 million Romanians are registered in mandatory private pension funds, i.e. the majority of the country's active population. Half (almost 4.2 million) contribute regularly, month after month, 4.75 per cent of their gross income, as part of the 25 per cent CAS social security contribution.

The money in pillar 2 is the second most valuable financial asset of the population, after bank deposits. Already 720,000 Romanians have amounts of over 50,000 RON each in their personal accounts in Pillar 2, according to APAPR estimates.

Throughout its entire operation (2008-2024), private pension funds in pillar 2 recorded an average annual return of 7.7 per cent, much higher than the average annual inflation rate of 4.4 per cent in the same period, according to APAPR calculations.

About 94 per cent of the money in pillar 2 is invested in Romania, making private pension funds the most important domestic institutional investors. Compared to the OECD, of which Romania country is a candidate country, at an advanced stage, only private pension funds in Turkey (96 per cent) show higher economic patriotism.

In addition, pillar 2 pension funds made over 210,000 payments to beneficiaries (participants and heirs), the amounts paid totalling RON 3.1bn between 2008 and 2024. In 2024 alone, the amounts paid were RON 1.bn, 20 per cent more than in 2023, according to APAPR calculations.

Romanians are also increasingly digitally connected to their personal pillar 2 private pension account. At the end of 2024, approximately 1,360,000 participants had an online account opened on the administrator's portal, so they could check their accumulated value, contribution history and other details of interest at any time. This number has increased by 300,000 in 2024, an increase of 28 per cent compared to 2023.

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