Retirement saving products in the Czech Republic: New employer obligation from January 2026 | News Flash

In the Czech Republic, the year 2026 brings new obligations for employers in relation to employees who perform risky work. From January 2026, this category of employees will be entitled to demand mandatory contributions to retirement savings products in the Czech Republic from their employers, which represents a significant change in the area of social security. Familiarize yourself not only with the conditions under which employees can draw the contributions, but also with the new obligations that employers in the Czech Republic will have, including informing employees and keeping relevant records.

On 1 January 2026, Act No. 324/2025 Coll., on mandatory contributions to retirement savings products in the Czech Republic (in Czech: Zákon o povinném příspěvku na produkty spoření na stáří) (hereinafter the “Act“), will come into effect, giving employees working in the third risk category the opportunity to receive contributions to these products from their employers. One of the objectives of the new legislation is to provide partial compensation to employees who, under the pension reform adopted in 2024, are no longer eligible for early retirement (in Czech: předčasný důchod).

What is meant by a retirement product?

According to the Act, the following are considered retirement savings products in the Czech Republic:

• pension insurance (in Czech: penzijní připojištění) with a state contribution under the Act regulating supplementary pension insurance with a state contribution,
• supplementary pension savings (in Czech: doplňkové penzijní spoření) under the Act regulating supplementary pension savings.

Savings products other than those listed above are not included in the employee savings options, and employees cannot request mandatory contributions to other products.

Who is eligible for contributions to retirement products in the Czech Republic?

The new legislation applies to employees performing work classified in risk category 3.

Which jobs can be classified in category 3?

These are activities in which health limits are exceeded and occupational diseases often occur during their performance, so it is necessary to protect oneself with personal protective equipment during these activities. On the other hand, however, these are not jobs where the health risk is so high that even protective equipment cannot guarantee the safety of employees (as is the case with risk category 4).

The classification of employees into individual categories is always carried out in cooperation between the employer and the regional public health authority (in Czech: krajská hygienická stanice). For work classified in categories 3 and 4, the employer submits a proposal to the relevant regional public health authority to classify the work in question into a specific category. If the regional public health authority accepts this proposal, it issues a decision classifying the work into category 3 or 4.

For the purposes of the mandatory contribution to retirement savings products, the following are considered risk factors affecting the classification of work into category 3 according to the Act:

• vibration
• cold stress
• heat stress
• overall physical stress, in the case of stress during dynamic physical work performed by large muscle groups

Jobs falling into category 3 include, for example, welders, blacksmiths, forestry workers, painters, butchers, metalworkers, cold storage warehouse workers, cleaners, laser operators, etc.

Who is entitled to the contribution?

Employees are entitled to the contribution if they work at least 3 risk shifts per calendar month. A risk shift is considered to be one that was risky for the majority of the time, with 8 hours of work being considered a shift for evaluation purposes. If an employee works longer or shorter shifts, each hour worked is counted as 1/8 of a shift to determine whether or not he/she is entitled to the contribution.

Example:

George works in production, where his work is classified in risk category 3, but he also performs some work in category 2. In the calendar month of April, he worked the following shifts: 2 x 12-hour shifts (risky shifts) and 3 x 8-hour shifts (non- risky shifts).

Each 12-hour shift counts as 1.5 risky shifts (12 hours divided by 8 hours), so Goerge worked a total of 3 high risk shifts (2 x 1.5 shifts). The 8-hour shifts in category 2 do not count towards the mandatory contribution. In total, George worked 3 high risk shifts in April and meets the conditions for entitlement to the contribution.

In order to be eligible for the contribution, the employee must notify the employer in writing that he/she wishes to exercise this right. In the notification, the employee must state at least the following:

• the name of the pension company with which he/she has a retirement savings product for which the employer is required to pay the mandatory contribution
• the account number to which the contribution is to be paid
• any other information necessary for the payment of the contribution

If an employee notifies the employer that he/she is exercising his/her right to a mandatory contribution, the first qualifying period (calendar month) for which the risky shifts worked are assessed and the evaluation base for calculating the mandatory contribution is determined begins on the first day of the following calendar month. The mandatory contribution itself is then payable by the end of the calendar month following the end of the reference period.

Example:

George notified his employer in writing on 15 May 2026 that he was exercising his right to a mandatory contribution. The first reference period is June 2026, and the first mandatory contribution for George is due by 31 July 2026.

What are the employer’s obligations?

Because the Act requires employees to notify their employer of their interest in receiving the contribution, it also imposes an obligation on employers to inform employees of this option. This must be done before the employee begins performing the risky work. Employees must be provided with at least the following information:

• the possibility of obtaining a mandatory contribution
• how to claim the contribution from the employer

The employer may also fulfil its obligation to inform employees electronically. In such a case, however, the employee must have the option to save and print the information. This may involve, for example, sending the information by e-mail or via the internal system used, with the information attached in PDF format.

What is the amount of the contribution?

If an employee is interested in taking advantage of the contribution and duly notifies the employer of this fact, he/she is entitled to a contribution amounting to 4% of the assessment base for calculating social security contributions.

Along with the entitlement to the contribution, the conditions for drawing early retirement benefits (in Czech: předdůchod) will also be eased for employees. Early retirement benefits allow employees to draw money they have saved themselves in the third pillar pension insurance before reaching retirement age. If an employee works in category 3 or higher and the employer contributes to his/her retirement savings products, from 2026 he/she will not be required to save for at least 10 years before drawing the early retirement pension.

Example:

George works as an operator on a production line, which is a job in risk category 3, and his employer has been contributing to his retirement savings products for five years. In 2031, George will reach the age of 60, but because his employer regularly contributes to his third pillar pension insurance, he will not have to wait 10 years as employees who do not have contributions to retirement savings do.

Instead, George will be able to draw his early retirement pension at the age of 60, even though he has only been saving for 5 years, because the obligation to save for at least 10 years will not apply in his case. This advantage will allow him to draw his early retirement pension earlier and enjoy his retirement without having to wait until he reaches retirement age.

What are the other obligations of employers?

Pension companies must have information available that their clients receive mandatory contributions from their employers for retirement savings products. Employers are therefore obliged to issue employees with confirmation of payment of the contribution by the end of the calendar month in which the contribution was paid. At the employee’s request, employers are also obliged to issue the employee with a duplicate of this confirmation.

Employers are also obliged to keep records of mandatory contributions to retirement savings products. In accordance with the Act, at least the following information must be recorded:

• a list of employees who perform risky work and have exercised their right to a mandatory contribution (name, surname and date of birth)
• the date of exercising this right and the information specified in the notification of exercising the right to a contribution
• number of risky shifts worked by the employee in the relevant period
• amount of mandatory contributions paid for each month

Employers are required to keep records for a period of 10 calendar years following the year to which they relate.

At the request of the regional social security administration, employers are also obliged to submit the records kept within the deadline set by the social security administration (however, this deadline must not be shorter than 8 days).

What are the penalties?

Employers who fail to comply with their legal obligations regarding the retirement saving products in the Czech Republic face the following penalties:

• failure to pay the mandatory contribution – a fine of up to CZK 2,000,000
• failure to comply with the information obligation – a fine of up to CZK 200,000
• failure to issue a confirmation to the employee or a duplicate thereof – a fine of up to CZK 200,000
• failure to keep records – fine of up to CZK 50,000
• failure to retain records – fine of up to CZK 50,000
• failure to submit records to the regional social security administration – fine of up to CZK 50,000

For the sake of completeness, please note that the regional social security administration is responsible for hearing the above offences in the first instance.

Conclusion

The year 2026 brings new obligations in the form of retirement saving products in the Czech Republic for employers, specifically as mandatory contributions for employees performing work in category 3. Employers who fail to comply with these obligations face financial penalties of up to CZK 2 million.

The effective date of the Act is currently set for 1 January 2026. However, it is still possible that this date will be postponed, which would give employers more time to prepare. Even so, employers should already start thinking about preparation, check the classification of job positions and prepare information for the employees concerned.

Do you need advice on your new obligations? Do not hesitate to contact the Czech legal team, we will be happy to assist you.

Aneta Zichová

Associate | Accace Czech Republic

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