Insured persons who are insured under the compulsory pension insurance system on the basis of generational solidarity (pillar I) according to the Pension Insurance Act and who are under 40 years of age are subject to compulsory insurance on the basis of individual capitalized savings (pillar II) in a pension fund of a certain category.
A compulsory pension fund (OMF) is established by a pension company that manages it in its own name and for the account of compulsory pension fund members.
There are currently four pension companies managing OMFs, namely: PBZ CROATIA OSIGURANJE d.d., Allianz ZB d.o.o., Raiffeisen d.d. and ERSTE d.o.o.
With regard to the investment strategy and the portfolio structure, OMF can fall under category A, B or C, and the said categories are managed by the same pension company. The investment risk should be the lowest in category C funds, and the highest in category A funds.
- Category A - riskier category, because the fund's assets are more exposed to shares compared to other types of financial assets (e.g. government or corporate bonds) with expected higher returns over a longer period.
- Category B - moderate risk category characterized by a more moderate investment strategy with expected moderate returns in the long term.
- Category C - the category with the lowest risk and lower expected returns over a longer period, since assets are invested exclusively in low-risk investments (e.g. timed deposits or bonds).
First registration at OMF
All persons under the age of 40 who, for the first time after 1 January 2002, acquire the status of an insured person in pension insurance (either on the basis of employment, self-employment, other income, compensation), must choose their compulsory pension fund within one month from on the date of acquiring the status of an insured person.
Immediately upon receiving information from the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute about the establishment of insurance in the system of compulsory pension insurance based on generational solidarity, REGOS shall deliver a Notice on the need to choose a compulsory pension fund to the home address of the insured person.
When registering at OMF for the first time, the insured person can choose category A, B or C OMF if they have more than 10 years until their right to old-age pension is exercised, while the insured person who has less than 10 years until their right to old-age pension is exercised does not have the option of choosing category A, but only category B or C OMF.
You can select a compulsory pension company and the category of a compulsory pension fund:
- at the counter of the Pension Information Centers in Zagreb, Split, Rijeka and Osijek
- at any FINA branch office at the counter where REGOS operations are carried out
- by using the REGOS electronic service „Compulsory pension fund (registration/change)“ in the e-Citizens system with the use of an electronic identity card (e-ID) with an activated signing certificate
If you do not select your OMD (compulsory pension company) and the OMF category within the prescribed period of one month, REGOS will assign you ex officio to one of the existing category A OMFs.
Change of OMF
A member of an OMF can change the OMF category once in a calendar year within the same pension company or by switching to OMF managed by another pension company. The category of OMF and the compulsory pension company can be changed at the same time.
The possibility of changing the OMF category is shown in the following table
| Current membership | The possibility of changing the category to: | Deadline for category change |
|---|---|---|
| Category A member | category B | No restrictions |
| Category A member | category C | No restrictions |
| Category B member | category A | 5 or more years until retirement |
| Category B member | category C | No restrictions |
| Category C member | category A | 10 or more years until retirement |
| Category C member | category B | 6 or more months until retirement |
An OMF member can switch to an OMF managed by another pension company if 15 days have passed since the previous change of OMF, regardless of whether the previous change was the result of switching to a pension fund which belongs to a different category but is managed by the same pension company, or switching to an OMF which is managed by another pension company.
An OMF member who changed the OMF category in the period from 1 January 2024 to 1 April 2024 cannot change the OMF category again in 2024 because the Act stipulates that the OMF category can only be changed once a year.
Remaining in category A
A member of a category A OMF can remain longer in category A by submitting a request to remain in category A.
This possibility applies to a member of an OMF who has more than 10 years and two months until they can exercise the right to an old-age pension.
The Act on Compulsory Pension Funds allows an OMF member who, as of 1 April 2024, has less than 8 months until the automatic assignment to a category B OMF to submit a request to remain in category A until the day preceding the official assignment to the category B pension fund, including that day.
By submitting a request to remain in category A, a member of OMF remains in the OMF category A for up to five years until the right to an old-age pension is exercised. After that, REGOS will assign them ex officio to a category B OMF.
If a member of a category A OMF does not take advantage of the opportunity to submit a request to remain in category A and REGOS assigns them to category B, they can subsequently return to category A on their own, if there are five or more years left until their right to pension is exercised.
OMF exit fee
No exit fee shall be charged when changing the category of an OMF within the same OMD.
The fee for exiting an OMF, if the pension company is changed at the same time, is calculated as a percentage of the amount of funds in the personal account:
- 0.8% in the first year of membership
- 0.4% in the second year of membership
- 0.2% in the third year of membership
After three years of continuous membership in the same OMD, the member may change the dun free of charge.