[Poland] PPK auto-enrolment – key deadlines for employers

The auto-enrolment to Employee Capital Plans (PPK) starts again in 2023. For employers, this means that they will have to fulfil their information obligation, as well as to enrol people for whom they have not previously entered into a PPK agreement.

Obligation to provide information

Employers are obliged to inform their employees about auto-enrolment into PPK by 28 February 2023. The information may be provided in a form accepted by a company, but in a form which, if a dispute arises, will allow it to prove that the employer has fulfilled the obligations imposed by the PPK Act.

The deadline for re-enrolment into PPK is the same for all employing entities, no matter when they have implemented PPK.

Employers must inform about the auto-enrolment into PPK:

• employees who submitted declarations of resignation before the PPK agreement was concluded on their behalf and for their benefit,
• PPK participants who have submitted declarations of resignation while saving in PPK.

The exception is for those who before 1 April 2023 will reach the age of 70, there is no obligation to provide information here.

Subsequent information will have to be provided by employers every four years:

• by the end of February 2027
• by the end of February 2031, etc.

Who will not be auto-enrolled into PPK

The re-enrolment will not cover individuals who have not been ‘enrolled’ in the PPK because they did not submit a request to conclude on their behalf and for their benefit a PPK agreement (this applies to individuals aged 55+). These individuals – because of their age – did not submit declarations on resignation from making payments to PPK.

Re-enrolment will also not apply to those who have previously declared that they do not wish to make contributions to the PPK and will now, after making such a declaration and before 1 April 2023, turn 55.

An employer will be able to ‘enrol’ the above-mentioned groups of persons into PPK or resume calculating PPK contributions for these persons from 1 March 2023 only on their request submitted by the last day of February 2023 ( for employees who are not PPK participants, it is a request to conclude a PPK agreement, and for PPK participants who resigned from making payments while saving in the PPK – a request to make PPK contributions).

Then, the employer will be required to make the first PPK payments for these individuals from 1 April 2023. To do so, the employer will have time until 17 April 2023 (15 and 16 April will be Saturday and Sunday).

For individuals aged 55+ who have not yet reached the age of 70 and who submit the relevant request after 28 February 2023, e.g. in March, April or even later, their employer, upon receipt of the request (either to conclude a PPK agreement or to make PPK contributions, respectively), will be obliged to fulfil the requests. However, the employer will do so not under auto-enrolment but under the general rules.

In practice, this means that the PPK payments will be made for these individuals on a date which depends from the date on which they submit the relevant request, rather than – as it does for re enrolment – from 1 April 2023.

It is also important to note that – under auto-enrolment – the employing entity cannot accept a request (to make contributions/enter into a PPK agreement) from either an employed person or a PPK participant who has submitted a declaration of resignation but has reached the age of 70 before 1 April.

Obligation to conclude an agreement and make contributions

According to the PPK Act, it is the employer’s responsibility to enter into an agreement and make contributions for individuals who previously opted out of joining the programme and then did not renew their resignation declaration within the set deadline.

The resignation declarations submitted so far will remain in force until 28 February 2023. Employees shall submit a new declaration to their employers to resign from contributing to the PPK from 1 March 2023 at the earliest. The declaration of resignation from contributing to the PPK requires written form.

If from 1 March 2023 an employee submits a declaration of resignation to his/her employer, the employer will not make PPK contributions for this person. For those employees who do not renew their declaration of resignation, employers will enter into agreements on their behalf and then make contributions for them.

If an employee submits a PPK resignation declaration once the employer has calculated the contributions but before they have been transferred to the financial institution, then the employer is obliged to return the calculated contributions to the employee.

Employee Capital Plans – see how we can help: