Vote 16 September 2026 · Chamber of Deputies · savings and investment accounts law
The vote passed. Your share is still zero.
500 lei a month, from 25 to 65: ≈234,000 lei in today's money (763,000 lei nominal)
Romania’s Chamber of Deputies adopted the CEI bill on 16 September 2026 with 262 votes for, none against, one abstention and one member not voting. The President promulgated it by Decree 814/2026 on 14 October, and Law 202/2026 was published on 15 October in Official Gazette, Part I, No. 865. Article 18 makes the CEI account provisions effective on 1 January 2027; Article 20 sets the same date for the tax amendments in Article 19. The calculator shows mathematical scenarios and does not confirm that an account is available to open.
CEI status checked 16 October 2026: Law 202/2026 was published in Official Gazette No. 865; the account provisions and tax amendments take effect on 1 January 2027. Exchange rate and market data: 17 September 2026.
Calculator: your pension, in today's lei
Move the sliders. Every result is an illustration built on constant assumptions, with no fees.
Simplified mathematical scenario: the model assumes CEI returns are untaxed and hypothetically taxes the selected share of the comparison account’s annual gain. It does not calculate actual tax or estimate an investor’s tax saving.
Total savedPaid in by youStarted laterScenario: 10.0 % of the comparison account’s gains taxed annually
At 65: total ≈234,000 lei, paid in by you ≈141,000 lei (in today's money).
Law 202/2026 sets no annual cap on your own contributions. An employer contribution to a CEI-D counts toward the monthly ceiling of 33% of base salary for non-salary benefits.
| Hypothetical annual return | Nominal total | Total in today's lei | Monthly, today's lei, 20 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3% | 463,000 lei | 142,000 lei | 600 lei |
| 5% | 763,000 lei | 234,000 lei | 1,000 lei |
| 7% | 1,312,000 lei | 402,000 lei | 1,700 lei |
Assumptions: constant yearly return, constant yearly inflation of 3.0 %, no fees, monthly compounding. The monthly amount divides the pot by the number of months and assumes no return during withdrawals. Large amounts round to 1,000 lei, monthly ones to 100 lei.
Actual tax depends on income type, when gains are realised and the intermediary. In 2026, transfers through the entities specified by Romania’s Tax Code incur withholding of 3% for holdings of at least 365 days or 6% for shorter periods; outside that withholding regime, the taxable net annual gain is declared and taxed at 16%. Dividends have separate treatment, and Romania’s health insurance contribution (CASS) may be due when statutory thresholds are met. The model excludes these obligations, costs and future legal changes: it assumes CEI returns are untaxed and uses a hypothetical annual tax on the comparison account’s gains, not an estimate of real tax savings.
CEI-S and CEI-D: same road, different tax
Follow 1,000 lei of gross salary through both accounts, if the money doubles. Move the rates and see when each one wins.
CEI-S Roth-style · TEE
CEI-S takes the tax on the way in and nothing on the way out.
- You pay in900 lei
- You get out1,800 lei
CEI-D Traditional-style · EET
CEI-D postpones the tax to the way out.
- You pay in1,000 lei
- In the account at the end2,000 lei
- You get out1,800 lei
At equal rates, the two accounts give the same result.
From 1 January 2027, Law 202/2026 provides for CEI-S and CEI-D accounts at banks and investment firms (SSIFs) authorized to manage portfolios; any individual can hold either or both types, and the type cannot be changed after opening. CEI-D contributions are tax-deductible for salary at the main job or self-employment income taxed on actual accounts. CEI-D withdrawals are taxed at 10% as a final tax; CEI-S withdrawals are exempt from income tax. Contributions can continue until statutory old-age, early or disability pension rights open, or age 65, whichever comes first; withdrawals become available at the same point. The law permits shares, bonds, regulated investment funds (UCITS) and other instruments on regulated markets in the EU or equivalent OECD markets. CEI account funds cannot be invested in derivatives, except UCITS that use them to track an index or hedge risk. The law sets no annual cap on personal contributions; employer CEI-D payments fall within the monthly ceiling of 33% of base salary for non-salary benefits.
Four countries, four philosophies
America has large employer contribution limits, Sweden offers simplicity with no cap, and Britain has a clear limit. Romania’s CEI law sets no annual contribution cap; its account provisions begin on 1 January 2027.
Yearly tax-sheltered amount, in euro
Euro amounts at the ECB reference rate of 17 September 2026: 1 euro = 1.1481 dollars = 0.85830 pounds.
| Romania · CEI | USA · 401(k) | Sweden · ISK | Britain · ISA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sponsor | You; in a CEI-D, the employer may add | The employer | You, individually | You, individually |
| Tax model | S: net in, free out · D: gross in, taxed out | Traditional or Roth, same idea | Annual tax: 1.065% of the capital base above the shared SEK 300,000 allowance (2026) | No tax inside the limit |
| Who picks the investments | You, from the manager’s offer: shares, bonds and funds; some UCITS may use derivatives to track an index or hedge risk | You, from an employer menu | You, directly on the market | You, directly on the market |
US 2026 thresholds: an extra $8,000 from age 50, $11,250 between 60 and 63; a separate $7,500 IRA. In 2026, Sweden’s SEK 300,000 allowance applies to combined savings in ISK, capital insurance and the Pan-European Personal Pension Product (PEPP). Skatteverket calculates standardised income as 3.55% of the capital base (2.55% plus one percentage point) and taxes it at 30%; the effective 1.065% rate applies to the part of the base above the shared allowance.
401(k) balances: average and median
The median is under a quarter of the average (Fidelity, Q2 2026, all-time high). The average is pulled up by large balances, the median shows the typical participant far below.
of Swedes hold an ISK account, launched in 2012, with no per-trade reporting.
Why now
The 2026 context, in three numbers: fewer working-age persons for each pensioner, a stock exchange at all-time highs, and a 16% dividend tax since January 2026.
Working-age persons per 65+
IMF, the 2050 forecast is a dashed line. The dependency ratio reached 31.6% in December 2025, an all-time high (Eurostat).
Bucharest Stock Exchange, billion lei
Regulated market: BVB reports (2024, 2025), ASF analysis (31 July 2026).
Active client accounts
Up 9.4 times in seven years. The BET index was up 47.1% year to date, first in Europe.
Pillar II and the road here
- 2008
Pillar II starts at 2%, promising to reach 6%.
- 2018
The contribution is cut to 3.75% instead of rising.
- 2024
The contribution rises to 4.75%.
- 2025
The Constitutional Court rejects the first payout law (25 November).
- 2026
Law 2/2026: from 5 January 2027, at most 30% cash and the rest in instalments over 8 years.
- Feb 2026
The Senate tacitly approves 5.25% (2026) and 6% (2027); the bill is not law.
- 31 July 2026
Net assets of 246.7 billion lei (about €47 billion) for about 8.5 million registered participants. APAPR, 10 August 2026.
- 31 July 2026
Cumulative net gain: 108.6 billion lei (about €20.7 billion), according to APAPR. The +19.2% return belongs to 2025.
- now
Pillar III returns +19.6%, with €400 deductibility frozen for over a decade.
- now
Dividends are taxed at 16% since January 2026. From 1 January 2027, under Law 202/2026, income withdrawn from a CEI-S is exempt from income tax; the exemption covers amounts withdrawn from the account and does not mean a return 16 points higher than money kept outside the account.
- 16 Sept 2026
The Chamber of Deputies adopts the CEI law: 262 votes for, one abstention.
What the research says
Automatic enrollment, before and after
Madrian and Shea (2001), the studied firm.
Save More Tomorrow, contributions
Thaler and Benartzi (2004), first implementation, one firm, 78% of employees joined.
Law 202/2026 provides no automatic enrollment and does not require an employer contribution. An employer may pay voluntarily into a CEI-D, within the monthly ceiling of 33% of base salary, so the two proven mechanisms are absent as obligations, not as possibilities.
Pillar II illustrates automatic contributions: people with eligible earnings contribute without a fresh monthly saving decision. On 10 August 2026, APAPR reported about 8.5 million registered participants, of whom over 4.6 million contributed regularly each month. Registration does not guarantee continuous contributions.
What is still open
Law 202/2026 was promulgated on 14 October and published the next day in Official Gazette, Part I, No. 865. Article 18 makes the CEI account chapter effective on 1 January 2027; Article 20 sets the same date for the tax amendments in Article 19. The first account launch date and participating managers remain unconfirmed.
- Still openThe ASF rules.
Article 17 gives ASF 90 days from publication to issue implementing rules. The date those rules will be published remains to be checked.
- Still openWhich managers launch the product.
Under Article 16, already-authorized managers that choose to offer CEI accounts must comply within 90 days after the rules are published and before offering the service. The managers that will launch accounts and the launch date have not been confirmed.
- Still openThe fees.
The law requires transparent fees, disclosed before opening, and 30 days' notice of any change. It sets no fee level; the market determines the actual cost.
Method and sources
- The vote and legislative record come from the Chamber’s official PL-x 545/2026 file, the adopted text and the Senate’s L318/2026 record. The published Law 202/2026 was checked in a scan of Official Gazette, Part I, No. 865, pages 9–13, hosted by MonitorLegal, and compared with the Senate’s official promulgation form. The CEI account provisions take effect on 1 January 2027 (Article 18); the tax amendments take effect on the same date (Article 20). Informat.ro reported the 16 September vote.
- The American and British thresholds come from official IRS and GOV.UK documentation; the 2026 ISK rules come from Skatteverket; the exchange rate comes from the daily ECB reference.
- Demography, markets and pension funds come from the institutions that publish them (IMF, Eurostat, BVB, ASF, APAPR, Fidelity), via cross-checked press reports.
- Actual Romanian tax depends on income type, when gains are realised and the intermediary. In 2026, transfers through the entities specified by the Tax Code incur 3% withholding for holdings of at least 365 days or 6% for shorter periods (Article 97(8¹), through entities in Article 96¹(1)); outside that regime, the taxable net annual gain is declared and taxed at 16% (Article 123(1²)). Dividends are treated separately, and Romania’s health insurance contribution (CASS) may be due when statutory thresholds are met. The calculator excludes these obligations, costs and future legal changes: it assumes CEI returns are untaxed and applies hypothetical annual tax to the comparison account’s gains, not as an estimate of tax savings.
- The calculator uses the future value of a monthly annuity, at a constant hypothetical return. It is not a forecast and not personalized advice.
Sources
- Informat.ro, CEI law adopted on 16 Sept 2026 (vote, mechanism, initiators)
- Chamber of Deputies, record of PL-x 545/2026 · adopted text (PDF, Romanian) · promulgated-law list (vote; Decree 814/2026 of 14 October; Law 202/2026 listed on 15 October; checked on 16 October; articles 1–20 of the adopted text)
- Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, No. 865, 15 October 2026 (scan of pages 9–13 hosted by MonitorLegal; Law 202/2026 and Decree 814/2026) · Senate, promulgation form · L318/2026 docket (calculator terms checked against the published text)
- Portal Legislativ, Law 239/2025, Article XII points 12 and 16 and Article XIII · ANAF, text of the law (PDF) (2026 rates and tax on realised gains)
- Skatteverket, amounts and rates for income year 2026 · Tax on an ISK (shared SEK 300,000 allowance and 2026 1.065% rate)
- IRS, 2026 401(k) limit: $24,500 · IRS, 2026 COLA table
- GOV.UK, ISA: £20,000 in 2026–27
- ECB, euro reference rate of 17 September 2026 (1 euro = 1.1481 dollars = 0.85830 pounds)
- IMF, Romania labour force and demographics
- Eurostat, 31.6% dependency ratio · BVB via Transilvania Investments Q1 2026 report (cap 350.3 to 523.1)
- ASF analysis, 704.8bn lei at 31 Jul 2026, accounts, BET +47.1%
- APAPR, 10 August 2026 release (net assets and cumulative net gain at 31 July; registered participants and regular contributors)
- Senate tacitly approves rise to 5.25%/6% (Agerpres, 4 Feb 2026)
- Madrian–Shea 2001 (49% to 86%): Urban Institute · NBER · Thaler–Benartzi 2004, RePEc record
An educational page: historical figures are cross-checked against press and public documents; calculator scenarios are illustrations, not forecasts or personal recommendations. CEI legal status was checked on 16 October; Romanian transfer-gain tax and Swedish ISK rules for 2026 were checked against primary sources on 17 October. Exchange rates and market data remain from 17 September 2026. Pillar II figures on this page come from the APAPR release of 10 August 2026 and describe the position at 31 July; the participant/contributor distinction was checked on 18 October. Fonts: Source Serif 4 and Source Sans 3, SIL Open Font license.