In 2011, those individuals in Poland who had savings in open pension funds (OFEs) lost zł.11 billion. Meanwhile, those managing the funds earned more than zł.600 million, Rzeczpospolita reported, citing Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) data.

Experts are calling on the Polish government to make changes to improve the efficiency of the system and better protect the interests of OFE customers. Fund managers should push for systemic change instead of mindlessly defending their profits, experts argue.

In the interim, it remains unclear just who will pay out the OFE pensions once a person retires. There is also a lack of so-called secure pension funds, meanwhile the earnings of fund managers have little to do with the profits of those saving for their pensions.

The zł.11 billion loss of those saving in OFEs came about mainly because the WIG, the main index on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, tumbled 21.2 percent on the year in 2011.

Poland A.M.