Prishtina, January 18, 2008 - From February 2008 all the contributors of The Kosovo Pension Savings Fund will be able to withdraw their savings in phases. The withdrawal of savings will be done through ProCredit Bank.
This service has been made possible after the signing of an agreement between Adrian Zalli, Managing Director of Kosovo Pension Savings Fund and Florin Lila, Deputy Chief Executive Officer in ProCredit Bank.
The withdrawal in phases will apply to all contributors who have saved EUR 2,000 or more and they can not buy annuity as it is specified in the regulations of Central Banking Authority of Kosovo.
All the contributors that will fulfill the above mentioned conditions regarding the withdrawal of their savings in monthly installments will be given special cards by ProCredit Bank. Contributors will have a special account for the pension money saved in Trust. ProCredit Bank will not charge the clients for the maintenance of these accounts.
“The withdrawal in phases means that the saved amount together with the return on savings will be transferred in the commercial bank and these savings will be paid to the contributor in monthly installments, until the savings have been paid in full. In this way the contributors that apply for retirement after January 2008 and who have EUR 2,000 or more in their accounts in Trust, will have a monthly income together with the basic pension.” declared Adrian Zalli the Director of The Kosovo Pension Savings Fund.
Florin Lila, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of ProCredit Bank has welcomed this initiative and has explained that while this amount is placed in the bank, it will be increased by means of the interest rate that is higher than the interest rates applied to other savings accounts.
“This agreement gives a unique opportunity to all the pensioners who will benefit from the saved amounts during the time that they are placed with ProCredit Bank. Contributors will be provided with cards that will enable them to withdraw funds inside Kosovo and for payments in all the points of sale in Kosovo. These cards will be given free of charge to all the pensioners!” added Lila.
The Trust is legally bound to enable all the contributors to withdraw the saved amounts in monthly installments, in the form of pensions. The withdrawal in phases is the best method due to the current circumstances in Kosovo. This happens due to the short period in which the savings have started and due to the low amounts that have been contributed; these are the factors that prevented those that have been retired recently to save a dependable amount for a life-long pension. In this way, the withdrawal in phases enables the contributors to have an additional monthly income. Of course the amount of this income will depend on the amount that is saved in the Trust and the amount that is profited by the investments.
The contributors that have saved €2,000 – €10,000 will receive a monthly payment in the amount of €100. Those who have saved more than €10,000 will receive 1% of the total amount in the account in the form of monthly payments. Contributors who saved less than € 2,000 will receive the whole amount in a single payment.
