Employee Capital Schemes (PPK)
The Employee Capital Schemes Act came into force on the 1 January 2019, and will be applied from 1 July 2019.
The purpose of the Act is to create a new, general retirement saving system which will finally, in general, cover all entities that are employers and millions of employees on various types of contracts.
When a business has the responsibility to create a PPK depends on the size of the business, with businesses that employ 250 or more people having to comply with the Act immediately from 1 July 2019, while smaller entities will have more time to create a PPK.
Right now employers and employees already face important decisions concerning the how to react to the implementation of these changes.
The deadlines for creating a PPK
The system will gradually cover all businesses employing:
from 1 July 2019 – entities employing at least 250 people
from 1 January 2020 – entities employing at least 50 people
from 1 July 2020 – entities employing at least 20 people
from 1 January 2021 – other entities from the private sector and state employees
Participants in the PPK
The system will actually cover all natural persons with an income, including:
Employees |
Persons employed on civil law |
Members of supervisory bodies |
Employment costs and budgets 2019
An entity employing at least 250 people will be obliged to create and implement a PPK in the third quarter of 2019. If the PPK is created at the last moment allowed by the act, the first payment to the PPK should be made on the remunerations paid after 12 November 2019. Employers have to budget for an increase in the amount they allocate for remuneration in their budgets for 2019.
PPK vs. PPE
Employers who create an employee pension scheme (PPE) within the appropriate parameters will be exempted from the obligation to create a PPK.
Both systems – the PPK and the PPE – have their advantages and disadvantages. However, currently the PPE are more beneficial than the PPK due to a few important reasons. This is an alternative worth considering. Every employer entity should analyse the advantages and disadvantages of both systems not only in the context of the results it wants to achieve, but also the expectations of its staff.
Creation of a PPE, as an alternative for a PPK, takes a minimum of a few months, which means for the largest companies covered by the Act on PPK, 1 July 2019 is the last moment to make a decision and implement the scheme.
REMEMBER ABOUT THE SANCTIONS!
Violation of the obligations specified in the act on PPK will be subject to severe sanctions in the form of a fine of up to PLN 1,000,000 or 1.5% of the remuneration fund
Similar fines will be levied for encouraging participants of the scheme to resign from participation in PPK, which is why you should be particularly careful about the content of materials and communication regarding PPK.
Both the employing entity and persons obliged to act on its behalf (in particular the management board) are exposed to liability.
How can we help?
- We will present to you the advantages, the disadvantages, and the benefits and risks connected with choosing between a PPE and a PPK
- We develop a “road map” for the process
- We conduct the tenders and support our client in selecting the financial institution appropriate for their business
- We participate in negotiations with the representatives of the staff
- We participate in negotiations and act as an intermediary between our client and financial institutions
- We develop the implementation documentation
- We develop templates for the letters, statements and declarations necessary for managing the scheme
- We monitor and support the everyday management of the scheme.
- We represent our client before the supervision authorities
- We train the staff responsible for handling the schemes
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