The Efficiency Of A Supplementary Old-Age Pension System – The Case Of Polish Voluntary Pension Funds

The aim of this article is to evaluate the effectiveness of voluntary pension savings plans in Poland,based on the principles of operation and rates of return of voluntary pension funds (pol. DobrowolneFundusze Emerytalne, DFE). The selection of those funds from a whole range of solutions available inthe 3rd pension pillar is due to the fact that only this type of voluntary pension saving plan providescomplete and transparent information about the actual investment policy, the composition ofpension investment portfolios, and the achieved rates of return. In order to evaluate the investmentpolicies and the effectiveness of DFEs, the following research methods were used: a literatureanalysis, an analysis of financial data, and basic methods of investment efficiency assessment. Theresults of the evaluation lead to the conclusion that despite their adoption of similar investmentstrategies, the DFEs have achieved very different values of effectiveness. In the years 2013-2018,selected funds achieved higher than average rates of return, while others achieved returns thatwere no better than the interest rates of standard bank deposits.