How much do you know about the extra rates you pay in Trust?

Over 2.3 billion euros has reached the savings value of over 700 thousand contributors, which manage the Kosovo Pension Savings Fund (FKPK), or, as Trust is otherwise known.

For management of these vehicles, citizens pay two tariffs, or about 40 euros a year, depending on the balance in their accounts.

As every year, these fees were approved on December 13th by the Kosovo Assembly, following the KKP's request.

One is called operational, and the other is investment.

For the investment fee, citizens pay 0.32 percent, while for that operational 0.057 percent, depending on the contributing balance they have in their account.

Of these two tariffs, the Kosovo Pension Savings Fund last year has managed to raise around eightm euros.

About 1.2m euros of this amount are expected to cover the expenses and needs of the employees of this Trust.

Does Demi, spokesperson at the Kosovo Pension Savings Fund, shows that the operational fee is spent on the institution's functioning needs, ranging from office rent, wages to posting accounting mirrors and other operating expenses.

The KKP is an institution that is not financed by Kosovo's budget, but is financed by burdening management fees on sub-administration vehicles, respectively.

The investment fee, meanwhile, goes for investment tool managers, as much of the fund is managed in international markets.

Despite the annual adoption of tariffs from the Kosovo Assembly, some citizens surveyed by Radio Free Europe are unaware that the Trust stops money for investment management.

Albert Gashi, a private sector employee, says he has no information on such payments.

I don't know, I don't know. Why, even Trust stops money?

The Trust offers contributors online access to their retirement savings accounts.

Naim, an employee at one of the public institutions, says he has access to the savings account, but, as he adds, he has not paid attention to the tax that stops him.

I actually look at the account balance every month, the taxes I haven't seen. I don't know why these taxes are paid, and I don't even know the monthly or annual amount that I pay for managing the”, he says.

Blerina Haziray says there is information about certain tariffs, but not about the sum.

“Trust sends the annual account mirror, but I don't know how much I pay”, she says.

Does Demi, spokesman at the Kosovo Pension Savings Fund, explains how much citizens pay for these accounts:

“To investment tariffs 0.32 percent, this depends on the balance the person has in account. But we get an account of about 10,000 euros, the annual fee is about 32 euros, or 2.6 euros per month”.

“In the case of the operational fee, we are still receiving an account of 10,000 euros, the contributor must pay 5.7 euros per year or 50 cents a month. But if the value is smaller, it amounts to up to 20 cents a month. Since about 80 percent of the accounts are below 10 thousand euros”, Demi says.

The reason for these tariffs, he adds, relates to the functioning of the institution, but also to the preservation of pension investment values.

According to him, The FKPK charges low management tariffs and is among the lowest pension funds in the Western Balkans.

All employees in Kosovo pay 10 percent of their pension contributions: 5 percent pay their employer, while 5 percent are separated from employees ' salaries.

Retirement savings can only be used by the contributor after meeting the pension criteria, 65, respectively.