PPK – information for employees.
Do you want to find out about the benefits of PPK?
Benefits of PPK
Additional savings after reaching the age of 60 (an employee enrolling in PPK at the age of 20, with a gross monthly salary of PLN 5,000, can accumulate over PLN 295,000*).
Investing capital in line with the investment strategy matching the age of the employee and subject to change later.
No tax when withdrawing funds from PPK after the employee turns 60.**
Inheritance of funds accumulated in PPK is not subject to inheritance and donation tax.
* After 40 years of saving, assuming an appropriate rate of return (however, the fund does not guarantee achieving a specific investment result) – calculations made using the PPK calculator from the website https://www.santander.pl/en/ppk/calculator-ppk. Calculation assumptions: age at PPK enrolment – 20 years, employee’s gross salary – PLN 5,000, basic mandatory employee contribution – 2%, basic mandatory employer contribution – 1.5%, 0% additional contribution from both employee and employer, saving in PPK until reaching the age of 60, projected average annual investment return during the investment period – 3.5%, projected annual return during the withdrawal period – 2.75%, projected annual salary growth – 2.8%, management costs – 0.50% (including no more than 0.10% performance fee).
** The 19% capital gains tax (as specified in Article 30a(1)(11b) of the PIT Act) will not be charged in the case of withdrawals after you reach the age of 60, assuming that:
- 25% of the funds are withdrawn as a lump sum and the remaining 75% in at least 120 monthly instalments;
or - 100% of funds are withdrawn in at least 120 monthly instalments.
Changing these assumptions (reducing the number of instalments or withdrawing the entire amount in a lump sum) will result in the need to charge the capital gains tax from the employee. Pursuant to Article 30a(13) of the PIT Act, the taxable income will be determined as the amount withdrawn from the redemption of participation units, reduced by the expenses incurred for the acquisition of those redeemed units.
Are you a PPK participant?
Do you want to check your account balance and explore the features of the online service? Or maybe you are wondering whether to join PPK? Contact us and we'll organise a free online meeting to discuss the topics you're interested in.
Automatic enrolment in PPK - Individuals aged 18 years or older but under 55 will be automatically enrolled in PPK by their employers (all employees for whom mandatory pension and disability insurance contributions are paid should be enrolled in PPK).
- Individuals aged 55 years or older but under 70 may join the Plan by submitting an application to their employer.
PPK is voluntary - As an employee, you may opt out of contributing to PPK at any time by submitting the appropriate declaration. Please note that opting out of making contributions also releases your employer from this obligation. As a result, no funds will be paid into your PPK.
- You may resume making PPK contributions at any time; all you need to do is submit the appropriate request to your employer.
- • Every four years, the employer is obliged to automatically re-enrol employees who have previously opted out of contributing to PPK (employees who have turned 18 but have not yet turned 55). This does not deprive the employee of the right to opt out again.
Funds in PPK are your private property (Article(3)(2) of the PPK Act: “Funds accumulated in PPK are the private property of the participant [...]”).
- You may freely dispose of your PPK funds at any stage, both before reaching the age of 60 (refund, withdrawal or transfer of funds in accordance with the rules set out in the PPK Act), and after reaching the age of 60 (withdrawal of funds*). We recommend familiarizing yourself with all the taxation rules for PPK funds (also in the case of disposing of them before reaching the age of 60), as set out in the PPK Act.
- PPK funds are also inheritable, as guaranteed by the PPK Act.
Choosing the target-date fund - Pursuant to the PPK Act, accumulated funds are invested in a target-date fund (subfund) appropriate for your age as a PPK participant.
- You may request the conversion of units of the target-date subfund to units of another subfund within the same fund, other than the one appropriate for your age. This is your decision, which should be compatible with the level of risk you are able to accept, as well as your individual savings goal and period.
* The 19% capital gains tax (as specified in Article 30a(1)(11b) of the PIT Act) will not be charged in the case of withdrawals after you reach the age of 60, assuming that:
- 25% of the funds are withdrawn as a lump sum and the remaining 75% in at least 120 monthly instalments;
or - 100% of funds are withdrawn in at least 120 monthly instalments.
Changing these assumptions (reducing the number of instalments or withdrawing the entire amount in a lump sum) will result in the need to charge the capital gains tax from the employee. Pursuant to Article 30a(13) of the PIT Act, the taxable income will be determined as the amount withdrawn from the redemption of participation units, reduced by the expenses incurred for the acquisition of those redeemed units.
Withdrawal from PPK after the age of 60
Once you turn 60, you can withdraw money at any time or continue contributing to your PPK account.
Withdrawal free of capital gains tax
Standard methods of withdrawing funds from PPK:
- a one-time withdrawal of 25% of funds from the PPK account, and the remaining 75% in at least 120 monthly instalments; or
- withdrawal of all funds in at least 120 monthly instalments, provided the instalment is not lower than PLN 50.
Other forms of PPK withdrawals:
- 100% of funds as a marital benefit in at least 120 monthly instalments, if your spouse also: has turned 60 and has signed a PPK agreement with Santander TFI.
- 100% of funds via a transfer to a bank term savings deposit or a term deposit maintained by a cooperative savings and credit union, provided it meets the requirements of the PPK Act.
- 100% of funds via a transfer to an insurance company, if you have signed an agreement with the insurance company under which you acquire the right to a periodic or lifetime benefit.
These withdrawal instructions can only be submitted in writing.
Withdrawal subject to capital gains tax
If you withdraw all your money from PPK in one instalment or in fewer than 120 instalments, we will reduce the amount withdrawn by the capital gains tax. Currently, the rate of this tax is 19%.
Change in the declared number of instalments
When deciding to withdraw the money, you can change the declared number of instalments.
However, there are two situations where this is not possible:
- If you have declared a withdrawal of funds over at least 10 years, you cannot change it to a period shorter than 10 years.
- If after the change, the instalment amount would be less than PLN 50.
How to withdraw funds from your PPK account
You may submit a request for withdrawal of funds from your PPK account via the employee platform (STI24) or in writing.
If you decide to withdraw funds:
Once the withdrawal process begins, we will inform your employer. In such a case, your employer will no longer make contributions or deduct further payments from your salary for PPK. Annual contributions from the state budget will also cease. Whether you are still employed will not matter in this situation.
STI24
- Log in to STI24 (online.santander-ppk.pl);
- On the home page, in “My products”, click on the product name “Santander PPK SFIO”. On the next screen, under your account balance, you will see the “Withdrawal” button (visible after you turn 60).
- After clicking “Withdrawal”, select the withdrawal form and your account number to which the funds should be transferred.
- Finally, confirm the order with an SMS code.
Access to the service requires prior registration; details on how to do this can be found at: Santander.pl/PPK/employee#sti24.
Written form
- We have provided a withdrawal request template on our website (Santander.pl/PPK/dokumenty). Print it and fill it out.
- Sign the completed request in the presence of a notary or submit it to your employer (if it agrees). The notary or employer will certify your signature.
- Please review the information provided on the withdrawal form. We have added a list of required documents that will be necessary to process the withdrawal.
- Send the request along with the required documents to the Transfer Agent's address:
- ProService Finteco Sp. z o.o.
ul. Konstruktorska 12a,
02-673 Warszawa - Or if you have submitted the request through your employer, your employer will send it to us.
- ProService Finteco Sp. z o.o.
Legal basis: PPK Act – Act of 4 October 2018 on employee capital plans.
* Contributions are calculated based on remuneration that constitutes the basis for calculating pension and disability insurance contributions, as defined in the Act of 13 October 1998 on the Social Insurance System. This excludes the contribution base for individuals on parental leave or receiving maternity benefits. The contribution base is not subject to the earnings cap mentioned in Article 19(1) of the Act.
** Basic contribution financed by the employee may amount to less than 2% of the remuneration, but not less than 0.5% of the remuneration, if the employee’s remuneration from different sources in a given month does not exceed the amount equal to 1.2x of the minimum wage.
Withdrawal from PPK
The funds accumulated in PPK are your private property, so you can freely dispose of them. The applicable laws specify how those funds are used, settled and taxed.
Before reaching the age of 60
If you, your spouse, or child suffers from a serious illness, you may withdraw up to 25% of funds in a lump sum or in instalments, with no obligation to return them.
You may withdraw up to 100% of the funds to cover a downpayment on a loan, e.g., for the purchase of an apartment or house – with the obligation to return the entire amount (nominal value) to your PPK account within a maximum of 15 years (for persons under 45 years of age).
Refund from PPK
You can claim a refund at any time. The refund amount will be reduced by:
- 30% of the value of redeemed units that were acquired with employer contributions (these funds will be transferred to ZUS as your pension insurance contribution);
- units acquired with the welcome contribution and annual contributions from the state;
- the capital gains tax.
Transferring funds from another PPK
If you change jobs, you have the option of transferring your funds from your PPK account with your current institution to a PPK account with the financial institution that runs the PPK under an agreement with your new employer. This is done through a transfer payment, covering all previous contributions (yours, your previous employer’s, and annual contributions from the state, as well as the welcome contribution).
Promotions on PPK fees in Santander TFI
- 0% conversion fee (no fee for changing investment allocation), regardless of the number of conversions performed.
- No more than 0.4% fixed management fee – see details in the table below.
- No more than 0.1% success fee.
- No additional fees for employers or employees for access to dedicated PPK online services and helpline.
- Take care of your financial security – check PPK information on the PFR portal: mojeppk.pl.
Lower management fees for Santander PPK SFIO subfunds – fees are reduced from the beginning of the year in which the subfund reaches the target date.
| Period | Management fee | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | To | Santander PPK 2025 |
Santander PPK 2030 |
Santander PPK 2035 |
Santander PPK 2040 |
Santander PPK 2045 |
Santander PPK 2050 |
Santander PPK 2055 |
Santander PPK 2060 |
Santander PPK 2065 |
| 01.01.2021 | 31.12.2024 | 0,40% | 0,40% | 0,40% | 0,40% | 0,40% | 0,40% | 0,40% | 0,40% | 0,40% |
| 01.01.2025 | 31.12.2029 | 0,30% | 0,32% | 0,35% | 0,35% | 0,35% | 0,35% | 0,35% | 0,35% | 0,35% |
| 01.01.2030 | 31.12.2034 | 0,20% | 0,30% | |||||||
| 01.01.2035 | 31.12.2039 | 0,20% | 0,30% | |||||||
| 01.01.2040 | 31.12.2044 | 0,20% | 0,30% | |||||||
| 01.01.2045 | 31.12.2049 | 0,20% | 0,30% | |||||||
| 01.01.2050 | 31.12.2054 | 0,20% | 0,30% | |||||||
| 01.01.2055 | 31.12.2059 | 0,20% | 0,30% | |||||||
| 01.01.2060 | 0,20% | 0,30% | ||||||||
How are the funds accumulated in PPK invested?
Funds from PPK contributions are invested in funds matching the age of a given employee, i.e., target-date funds. In accordance with the PPK Act, the investment policy of target-date funds is designed to reduce investment risk as the participant approaches the age of 60. Knowing exactly the investment horizon (the employee’s 60th birthday), it is possible to initially allocate a larger portion of assets to equities and then, as the employee approaches the age of 60, invest an increasing share of the assets in debt instruments, which are characterised by lower investment risk.
| Target-date fund allocation: | Equity part (e.g. shares) | Debt part (e.g. bonds) |
|---|---|---|
| from fund inception up to 20 years before the target date | 60 – 80% | 20 – 40% |
| 20 years before the target date | 40 – 70% | 30 – 60% |
| 10 years before the target date | 25 – 50% | 50 – 75% |
| 5 years before the target date | 10 – 30% | 70 – 90% |
| starting from the target date | max. 15% | min. 85% |
Investing involves risk. Santander PPK SFIO subfunds do not guarantee achievement of the intended investment objective or specific returns. Participants must be aware of the possibility of losing at least part of the contributed funds. When investing in investment funds, the participant purchases the units of those funds and not the underlying assets that the fund itself invests in.
Santander PPK SFIO subfunds are exposed to risks related mainly to fluctuations in market interest rates, credit risk, liquidity risk and share price fluctuations.
Before making any investment decisions, please read the fund's prospectus, which includes a full list of risks.
Target-date funds offered by Santander TFI
As part of Santander PPK SFIO, PPK participants are offered 9 target-date subfunds. Their characteristics are available on dedicated subpages after clicking on the name of the subfund.
PPK platform for employees (STI24)
FUNCTIONALITY
Real-time asset overview
Possibility of supplementing dataSubmitting PPK instructions and declarations, such as changes in contribution allocation, changes in investment allocation, refunds, withdrawals after turning 60, and changes in employee data
Ability to view and download the PPK administration agreement
Asking questions via the contact form
LOGGING IN TO THE PLATFORM
To log in to the platform, go to online.santander-ppk.pl. You can also access the platform from Santander TFI websites – santander.pl/en/TFI and santander.pl/en/PPK by clicking the “Log in” button and then “PPK for employees” in the upper right corner of the page.
Before logging in, you must register on the website – if you have not registered yet, you can read about how to do it in the next section.
If you have forgotten your password to the platform, please use the “I forgot my password” option on online.santander-ppk.pl – enter your login, which by default is your email address, and we will send a password reset link to this email address.
REGISTRATION ON THE PLATFORM
You can ask our advisors to resend the link:
- by calling (+48) 22 35 54 673* (Monday to Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) or
- o by sending a message to: PPK.Santander@psfinteco.pl.
* calls charged at your operator’s rate
We need to receive these data to be able to provide you with access to STI24. How can you give them to us?
Option 1: You can provide your email address and phone number to your employer, who should forward them to us.
After completing these data, a message with an activation link will be sent to the email address you provided. Follow the steps below.
Step 1 Click on the link you will receive by email. Your login is your email address.
Step 2 Create your password for the platform and confirm it with the SMS code you have received.
Option 2: You can activate your account in STI24 by making a transfer of PLN 1 (the payment will be refunded after the process is completed).
Step 1 Go to online.Santander-PPK.pl and select the “Register with Blue Media” button.
Step 2 Complete the data and then select your bank, to which the system will redirect you to verify the information entered.
Step 3 Confirm your data by making a transfer of PLN 1. After completing the transfer, you will receive information about the verification result.
Step 4 After successful verification, create a login and password for your account and log in to the platform.
Security of your funds in PPK
Supervision by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority The Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) supervises whether Employee Capital Plans are maintained in accordance with the provisions of the PPK Act. If, as a result of an inspection, it is found that a financial institution is running PPK unlawfully, the KNF will call on that institution to cease those activities. The supervision is aimed at protecting PPK participants and their savings. In addition, the KNF prepares statistics on PPK based on the collected data.
Supervision by the National Labour Inspectorate The National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) is responsible for ensuring that employers properly meet their obligations related to running PPK. Offences related to the improper management of PPK by the employer, such as: failure to make contributions for participants, incorrect payment amounts or lack of settlement documentation, may result in fines ranging from PLN 1,000 to PLN 1 million.
PPK helpline: +48 22 35 54 673
Telephone service for PPK participants and employers is available from Monday to Friday (on all days when the Warsaw Stock Exchange is open) from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Calls charged at your operator’s rate.
This document is presented for marketing purposes and does not constitute an agreement or an information document required by law.
It should not be relied upon as the sole basis for making investment decisions.
The contents of this subpage have been prepared on the basis of the Act of 4 October 2018 on Employee Capital Plans (PPK) and are up-to-date as at the date of their publication on the website. These contents do not constitute legal, financial or tax advice, nor do they replace the applicable provisions of law and should be each time interpreted and used in compliance with applicable legal regulations.
The net asset value of some sub-funds may exhibit high volatility, which results from the composition of the portfolio or the portfolio management technique employed. Some sub-funds may invest more than 35% of their assets in securities issued, guaranteed or underwritten by the State Treasury or the National Bank of Poland.
The rewards of investing in shares are also accompanied by risks. A description of the risk factors, financial data and information about fees and charges can be found in the prospectuses, key information documents (KIDs) and schedules of fees and charges available in Polish at Santander.pl/TFI/documents. For a summary of investors' rights, see the prospectus (Chapter III, sec. 4).
The Funds do not guarantee the achievement of a stated investment objective or a specific investment performance and future returns are subject to taxation, which depends on the personal situation of each investor and which may change over time. Before making an investment decision, the participant should consider the fees associated with the sub-fund and take into account the possible taxation of the investment return. The participant must also take into account the possibility of losing at least part of the invested funds.
When investing in mutual funds, the participant purchases the units of those funds and not the underlying assets that the fund itself invests in.
The information on the website may contain advertising content
The information on the website may contain advertising content