[Poland] PPK: Abolition of the 30 times limit

The Act on Employee Capital Plans (PPK) has not yet entered into force and on 10 June its amendment has already been published in the Journal of Laws. What changes do the new provisions of the Act introduce for employers?

The amendment will come into force together with the basic act on PPK, i.e. on 24 June 2019.  The most important change for companies is the abolition of the limit of 30 times the base of payments in Employee Capital Plans. It will be replaced by a limit of contributions and surcharges in the amount of USD 50 thousand, which a PPK participant can make to all their accounts.

The PFR will be responsible for verifying that the contributions have not exceeded the statutory limit. The limit value will be calculated at the average NBP rate on the last working day before 31 December of a given calendar year – says Łukasz Jasiński, Strategy Advisor at Contract Administration.

An important change for employers is also the extension of the catalogue of employed persons. In the amendment to the Act, this definition also includes persons on unpaid leave, parental leave and maternity leave. However, there are no changes in the fact that for people from this group, the employer will not pay contributions to the PPK.

The new definition of employed persons will be crucial when counting the number of employees on a given calendar day. This may result in a change in the date of implementation of the PSC or a change in the condition for exemption from the obligation to implement it. In the latter case, the employer participates in the Employee Pension Plan (Pracowniczy Program Emerytalny – PPE) and pays contributions in the amount of 3.5% of the basic salary for at least 25% of the employed – adds Łukasz Jasiński.

Before the amendment to the Act, the agreement on running the PPK could only be transferred in an electronic form allowing for its content to be recorded on a durable medium. After the changes are introduced, it will be possible to transfer it also by means of an ICT system. The Act also allows for paper form – at the request of a PPK participant.

Before the amendment, the Act on Employee Capital Plans lacked a provision stating that 25% of employees should participate in the PPE, also after the transitional period of implementation of the Act on PPKs. Currently, each employer is obliged to have ¼ of the employees in the PPE. The verification will take place on 1 January and 1 July each year.

Learn more:

Employee Capital Plans – the most important information

How to introduce PPK in your company?