A Romanian currently has more than 3.2 million lei collected in his Pilon II compulsory private pension account, almost 15 times more than the average value of an account in the system. It is the largest individual asset reported in Pillar II, in a system where the smallest account has a symbolic value of only 1 lei, and 20% of participants have savings below 1,681 lei. ASF statistics show a strong contrast between active participants, with high incomes and long careers, and those with small contributions or frequent interruptions in activity. At the end of September 2025, the average asset value of a participant in the privately administered pension system reached 22,103 lei, up by approximately 20% compared to the same period of the previous year, due to the increase in contributions, the increase in salaries and investment returns. However, the distribution of assets remains unbalanced. Although the average exceeds 22,000 lei, a fifth of the participants have less than 1,681 lei in their accounts, a level specific to those who contributed sporadically or for short periods. At the opposite pole, there are accounts worth millions of lei, built over several years of constant contributions at high salary levels. In the first nine months of 2025, the privately administered pension system began to deliver increasingly visibly in the payment area as well. Payments of net personal assets were made in the total amount of about 1.78 billion lei to 52,513 participants or beneficiaries. Of this amount, 79.8% was related to the opening of the right to pension, a sign that more and more participants are reaching retirement age and starting to collect the accumulated savings. Another 7.8% of the payments were made as a result of the participant's death, and 12.5% were generated by invalidity situations. In parallel, entries into the system continue to grow at an accelerated pace. During the first nine months of 2025, the contributions transferred to Pillar II totaled 16.7 billion lei, an increase of approximately 27% compared to the same period of the previous year. The increase comes both from the increase in the salary base and from the increase in the average contribution per participant. At the level of September 2025, the average contribution of participants with transferred amounts was about 411 lei per month, compared to 384 lei at the end of 2024. The evolution reflects both the salary dynamics and the growing share of employees with above-average incomes in the total number of active contributors. The money accumulated in Pillar II is mainly invested in instruments considered relatively safe, but with a relevant component of exposure to the capital market. At the end of September 2025, government securities represented 65.5% of privately managed pension fund portfolios, down from 67.1% at 31 December 2024. At the same time, equity investments reached 25% of total assets, a sign of slight diversification and a greater appetite for superior long-term returns. The largest holdings in shares are concentrated in companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, especially in OMV Petrom, Banca Transilvania, Hidroelectrica, Romgaz and BRD – Groupe Société Générale, along with other investments in bonds and fixed income instruments. For many participants, the problem is not the yield or the structure of the investments, but the fact that they do not know exactly how much money they have collected and not even to which administrator they are assigned. The check is free and can be done online. Those who want to find out which pension fund they are enrolled in can access the platform…
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