Senate president Abrudean: More transparency, more debate needed on second pension pillar bill

Senate President Mircea Abrudean stated on Tuesday that the draft law on the second pension pillar requires greater transparency and broader debate, adding that its final version will be 'balanced' and 'revised' in Parliament.

"PNL [the National Liberal Party] advocates for deeper dialogue and more thorough consultation on this bill, which will take place in Parliament, since it is ultimately Parliament that will vote on the law in its final form. As we know, the initiative came from the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour, aiming to align with OECD standards — a national goal supported by all coalition parties. I don't believe this will pose a major problem, but there is clearly a need for greater transparency and broader debate, which will indeed happen in Parliament," Abrudean said at the Senate, when asked about the Liberals' position on the second pension pillar bill.

According to him, there is an "optimisation" of withdrawals from this pension pillar in all European countries.

"As in the rest of Europe and across all OECD countries, I believe there should be — not exactly a restriction, but rather an optimisation — of such withdrawals. A 25% threshold has been proposed, which is more generous than in other European states. These provisions remain open to improvement; this is certainly not a perfect package or draft law. We need more dialogue and input from more specialists, and the final version — which will be balanced and refined in Parliament — will reflect that, as this is precisely Parliament's role," Mircea Abrudean pointed out.

The draft law on private pension payments was presented on August 8, in a first reading, at a Government meeting. Following the meeting, Financial Supervisory Authority president Alexandru Petrescu said the bill provides for two withdrawal options: a programmed withdrawal pension, paid over a fixed period with a guarantee of full reimbursement of the accumulated assets, and a lifetime annuity, paid for the entire duration of the participant's life.