The Employee Capital Plans are an effect of joint work of the Ministry of Finance, the former Ministry of Development – currently the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Technology and the Ministry of Investment and Economic Development, as well as the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy.

The Employee Capital Programmes are to concern approx. 11.5 million of employees and to provide additional savings for future retired persons.

The President @AndrzejDuda signed the Act on Employee Capital Plans. #ECP pic.twitter.com/u5yPAkTUxo

— Ministry of Family (@MRPiPS_GOV_PL) 19 November 2018

The Act assumes establishing a private, voluntary system of collecting retirement pension savings. The programme is to engage the country, employers and employees. It concerns persons who are employed on the grounds of an employment agreement. The basic payment financed by the ECP participant can amount to between 2 and 4 percent of remuneration. Whereas, the employer would pay a contribution of between 1.5 and 4 percent of the remuneration. As a result, the maximum payment to the ECP per one employee could amount to 8 percent.

The basic payment financed by the ECP participant will be able to amount to less than 2 percent of the remuneration, however, not less than 0.5 percent of the remuneration, if the ECP participant’s remuneration obtained from various sources in a given month does not exceed the amount corresponding to 1.2 multiplicity of the minimum wage.

An annual payment from the budget in the amount of PLN 240 would be binding and furthermore, the country would give an additional “welcome payment” in the amount of PLN 200.

The Act will enter into force on 1 January 2019 with half a year of vacatio legis. The biggest companies employing over 250 persons will start applying provisions of the act as of 1 July 2019. Entities employing at least 50 persons – as of 1 January 2020, and companies employing at least 20 persons - as of 1 July 2020. Other entities will be obliged to adhere to the Act as of 1 January 2021. The latter also applies to public finance sector entities.