Automatic enrolment in ECP

What is automatic enrolment in ECP and to whom it applies?

Employees as defined in the ECP Act (i.e. mostly those working on employment contracts and contracts of mandate included in the social insurance system) aged below 55 have been authorised to file a statement of resignation from ECP membership. If they failed to file the statement, they were automatically enrolled in ECP. The validity of statements of resignation is not unlimited, though. The ones filed so far will expire as of 28 February 2023.

In general, if employees fail to re-file their statements of resignation between 1 March and the salary payment date, their employers will be obliged to charge the ECP premium on their first salary payable after 1 March, and transfer it to ECP on their behalf in the period from 1 to 17 April 2023 (and if they had filed their statements of resignation before ECP agreements were signed on their behalf, the employers will be obliged to conclude immediately such agreements in the first place, and then proceed with the withholding and payments).

Employees who turned 55 during the period between the date of filing of the first statement of resignation and 1 April 2023 may be enrolled in ECP only if they file a motion of accession.

Employer’s obligations related to the automatic enrolment in ECP

By 28 February 2023, employers must inform all individuals who filed their statements of resignation that the date of automatic enrolment in ECP is nearing.

The obligation to inform (and to perform the automatic enrolment) applies to all employers who have ECP in place, regardless of the date of establishing it.

Automatic enrolment in ECP - further steps

Employers must review the list of individuals qualifying to the automatic enrolment in ECP checking their age and the status of ECP accounts. The scope of resulting activities may differ depending on the review results.

An employer may be obliged to:

• Immediately conclude an ECP agreement for and on behalf of an employee (applies to those who had filed their statements of resignation prior to the conclusion of such agreements);
• Inform the entity that manages the financial institution running ECP that the payments for the members have been resumed (applies to those who filed their statements of resignation after the conclusion of such agreements);
• Calculate and deduct the ECP premium from the first salary paid to an employee after the conclusion of an ECP agreement or after 1 March 2023;
• In the period from 1 to 17 April, transfer the ECP premiums calculated and deducted from the salary paid in March, provided that by then, an employee does not file a resignation statement;
• Reject motions for ECP accession filed by an employee or ECP member who had filed a statement of resignation and turned 70 before 1 April.

Employees may re-file their ECP resignation statements

Those who plan to resign from ECP membership are recommended to file their statements after 1 March 2023. A statement of resignation is effective as of the date of filing; no premiums shall be deducted from their salaries and transferred to ECP as of the filing date.
The automatic enrolment procedure will be reiterated every two years; the next one is expected in 2027.

If you need support regarding automatic enrolment in ECP, among others concerning:

• Analysis and selection of individuals to be informed about the automatic enrolment;
• Preparation of documents necessary to carry out the information campaign in your firm;
• Concluding an ECP agreement for and on behalf of your employee;
• Preparation of documentation necessary to operate the ECP program;
• Calculation of amounts to be transferred to ECP.

you are welcome to contact us.