The way is now open for small and medium-sized enterprises to take part in occupational social security. With the submission of a bill in Parliament, the pool of enterprises that can offer supplementary pension coverage to their employees is significantly expanded.
The plan foresees the approval of the bill by the end of August, so that the first applications of the new framework can begin in the fall.
SMEs that are unable to establish a corresponding autonomous fund will be able to insure their employees in the “Open Occupational Social Security Funds.”
The new institution aspires to remove one of the most important obstacles to the participation of SMEs in occupational social security: the high administrative and organizational costs for the establishment and operation of an autonomous fund.
The new framework abolishes the limitation of social security to 100 employees, which in practice excluded many small enterprises from multi-employer schemes.
