USR Deputy Claudiu Năsui, former Minister of Economy, strongly criticizes the Government’s intention to limit the withdrawal of money from the Second Pillar of pensions.
In a Facebook post, Năsui argues that the Executive led by Ilie Bolojan is preparing a regulation through which Romanians may only withdraw 25% of the accumulated savings, with the remaining 75% to be paid gradually.
"It's a violation of private property and the convention that underpinned Pillar 2," Năsui asserts. He warns that Romanians are losing a hard-earned right: "They lose access to the money they saved, they lose the opportunities and options that would have been available to them if they received their money."
According to the deputy, the new regulation could seriously affect elderly individuals who rely on these savings to pay off their debts.
"At 65 years old, they might have debts with higher interest rates than the returns of the funds in Pillar 2. That's why it would be more profitable for them to withdraw their money and repay their loan rather than pay high interest rates to keep their money in low-yield investments," he explains.
Romanians, forced to finance the state
Năsui argues that the ones who stand to gain are the pension fund administrators, paid from commissions on total assets. "If Romanians can only withdraw 25% of their money, the total assets remain higher, so the administrators get higher commissions," he points out.
The second big winner would be the state, as the funds in Pillar 2 invest approximately 65% in government securities. "Instead of allowing the Romanians to use or invest their money as they see fit, the state obliges them to continue financing it and exposes 65% of the money to the same risk as Pillar 1," the former minister further states.
He accuses that the legislative project was generated non-transparently, "emerging from the ASF offices out of the blue, without being announced or discussed." In his view, this initiative replicates models from other countries "where funds lobbied for such a privilege."
The most affected, Năsui argues, would be Romanians with low incomes. "Because the wealthy already have other savings, other investments, and other sources of additional income. But the poorest [...] will be forced to accept small payments and a lower standard of living."
In conclusion, Claudiu Năsui believes that the measure represents "a form of slow and masked expropriation under the pretense of 'protecting the system' and the beneficiaries. In fact, when it's time to pay out the money set aside by Romanians, they don't want to give it."