Over 2,000 Romanians have already spoken to the artificial intelligence-powered virtual assistant launched by the Association for Privately Managed Pensions in Romania (APAPR) to obtain information about private pensions, with the most frequent questions concern having beeen the amounts accumulated in Pillar II and the conditions for withdrawing the money, according to a press release issued by the association.
Available on the pilonul2.ro platform, the virtual assistant Mr Pensionescu' provides general information on how the private pension system works, Pillar II contributions, the conditions for withdrawing accumulated funds and voluntary private pensions (Pillar III). The assistant has been trained using a set of official and up-to-date information and is continuously being improved, including on the basis of users' questions and the information needs identified during conversations.
APAPR points out that Mr Pensionescu' provides general guidance and does not have direct access to individual members' accounts. Consequently, it cannot provide information on the amount accumulated by a particular person.
To check their Pillar II savings, users must first identify the fund to which they contribute through the official portal of the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF), which is also accessible via pilonul2.ro. They must then log in to the online account provided by the fund administrator, where they can check their accumulated balance, contribution history and the performance of their savings.
Pillar II represents personal savings for millions of Romanians, but the first step is for everyone to know where this money is held and how to check it. The questions we have received show how important it is to have clear information that is easy to find and understand. We want this tool to help as many members as possible move from asking questions to taking concrete action: finding out which fund they contribute to, opening or accessing their online account, tracking the performance of their retirement savings and, where necessary, updating their account details so that they receive all communications on time,' APAPR President Cristian Pascuis quoted as saying in the press release.
At present, almost two million Romanians check their private pension accounts online, according to figures presented by APAPR.
The association recommends checking accounts regularly, reviewing contribution histories and updating personal details with the administrator of the fund to which members contribute each month.
