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> Vote 16 September 2026 · Chamber of Deputies · savings and investment accounts law.
> Evidence checked 17 September 2026.

500 lei a month, from 25 to 65: ≈234,000 lei in today's money (763,000 lei nominal).

The Chamber of Deputies adopted the savings and investment accounts (CEI) law with 262 votes for and one abstention. The law is not promulgated, and the cap, lock-up, instruments and providers stay unpublished.

## Calculator: your pension, in today's lei

Reference case (240,000 lei paid in, age 25 to 65):

| 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 |

Started 10 years later, the 5% plan gives ≈128,000 lei in today's money. In an ordinary account, with a yearly 10.0% tax on gains: ≈206,000 lei in today's money.

Assumptions: constant yearly return, constant yearly inflation of 3.0%, no fees, monthly compounding. Large amounts round to 1,000 lei, monthly ones to 100 lei.

## CEI-S and CEI-D: same road, different tax

At the same rate going in and coming out, the two accounts give the same mathematical result; CEI-S wins only if the rate in retirement is higher than today. Example: 1,000 lei gross, money doubles, 10% and 10% rates: both accounts end with 1,800 lei.

Architecture from the Senate draft: special accounts at investment firms (SSIFs), for any resident with taxable income, holding both types at once. The Senate draft uses another acronym (CIIP), and the adopted final text is still unpublished. Whether the CIIP draft is an earlier version of the adopted law or a parallel initiative is unclear from public sources.

## Four countries, four philosophies

Yearly tax-sheltered amount, in euro (ECB rate 17 September 2026: 1 euro = 1.1481 dollars = 0.85830 pounds): US employee €21,300 ($24,500), US with employer €62,700 ($72,000), Britain €23,300 (£20,000), Sweden no contribution cap, Romania cap unpublished.

|  | Romania · CEI | USA · 401(k) | Sweden · ISK | Britain · ISA |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Sponsor | You, individually | The employer | You, individually | You, individually |
| Tax model | S: net in, free out · D: gross in, taxed out | Traditional or Roth, same idea | Yearly charge of about 1% on the balance | No tax inside the limit |
| Investments | unknown, SSIF-held accounts in draft | You, from an employer menu | You, directly on the market | You, directly on the market |

USA 2026: an extra $8,000 from age 50, $11,250 between 60 and 63; a separate $7,500 IRA. Sweden exempts the first 300,000 SEK from 2026.

401(k) balances, Q2 2026 (Fidelity, record): average $155,800, median $35,800. The median is under a quarter of the average. In Sweden, 40% of people hold an ISK (launched 2012).

## Why now

Working-age persons per person aged 65+ (IMF): 4.6 in 2007, 3.3 in 2022, 2.0 forecast for 2050. Dependency ratio: 31.6% in December 2025, all-time high (Eurostat).

Bucharest Stock Exchange, regulated-market capitalization (billion lei): 350.3 end of 2024, 523.1 end of 2025 (+49%), 704.8 at 31 July 2026 (+35%). Active accounts: from 15,726 in March 2019 to 148,491 in March 2026, 9.4 times. BET +47.1% year to date, first in Europe.

Milestones: 2008, Pillar II from 2% toward 6%; 2018, cut to 3.75%; 2024, 4.75%; 2025, court rejects first payout law; 2026, Law 2/2026 (at most 30% cash, rest over 8 years, from 5 January 2027); Feb 2026, Senate tacitly approves 5.25%/6%, bill is not law; now, 228 billion lei (€43.5 billion) for 8.5 million participants, +19.2% in 2025, €17.8 billion in 18 years, Pillar III +19.6% with €400 frozen for over a decade, 16% dividend tax; 16 Sept 2026, the CEI vote (262 for, one abstention).

## What the research says

Madrian and Shea (2001): participation rose from 49% to 86% in the studied firm. Thaler and Benartzi (2004): from 3.5% to 13.6%, almost four times, at the first implementation, in a single firm, over about four years, among the 78% who joined. Press and draft show CEI without the two proven engines, but the verdict stays provisional until the final text. Pillar II is the mandatory participation that works.

## Five unknowns

The annual cap; the lock-up and penalty; eligible instruments; providers; promulgation and the final text. The final text is unpublished. Any number you read about them is, today, invented.

## Sources

Informat.ro (16 Sept 2026 vote); the Senate (CIIP draft + motives); IRS ($24,500, COLA table); Wikipedia ISK (unofficial); GOV.UK (ISA £20,000); ECB (17 Sept 2026 rate); IMF; Eurostat; BVB + ASF analysis; APAPR; the Senate (5.25% bill); Urban Institute + NBER (49%→86%); RePEc (SMarT). Full links are in the HTML edition.