Mandatory contribution to retirement savings products from 1 January 2026

With effect from 1 January 2026, Act No. 324/2025 Coll. will introduce a new obligation for employers to make a contribution to employees performing hazardous work in category III for supplementary pension insurance with a state contribution or supplementary pension savings. Contributions will normally be tax and premium exempt up to the current annual limit of CZK 50,000.

The aim of the new law is to enable these employees to draw a so-called pre-retirement pension from their own savings, since, unlike those in Category IV high-risk occupations, these workers have not been granted a reduction in the retirement age.

Conditions of entitlement and amount of the contribution

• Employees who perform hazardous work classified in Category III under the Public Health Protection Act (for factors such as exposure to cold, exposure to heat, vibration, physical strain, etc.) will be eligible for the contribution.
• Entitlement does not arise automatically. Employees must inform their employer in writing about the agreed retirement savings product. The notification should also state, which company the product is with and to which account the employer should send the contribution. 
• The mandatory contribution is 4% of the assessment base for each month, in which the employee has worked at least 3 shifts of hazardous work.
• If the shift of hazardous work is shorter or longer, the law provides for a pro-rata recalculation for this situation.

Obligations of the employer

• The employer is obliged to inform the employee in writing about the right to the mandatory contribution before the employee starts to perform the hazardous work. For employees, who already perform hazardous work, the employer must comply with its information obligation by 15 January 2026.
• The employer is also obliged to issue the employee with a one-off confirmation of the compulsory contribution to the retirement savings products (by the end of the month, in which the contribution was first paid).
• According to the law, it is necessary to keep records of contributions for 10 years and provide them to the Czech Social Security Administration within 8 days upon request.

Companies that already employ or will employ workers falling under the third category of hazardous work should therefore prepare for the above obligations in a timely manner. Failure to comply with the obligation to pay the contribution will result in a penalty of up to CZK 2,000,000.