Primary school in Radawiec Duży awarded for special involvement in ECP

The Primary School in Radawiec Duży (Lubelskie Province), which cooperates with PFR TFI in the area of Employee Capital Plans (ECP), received the “Responsible and Friendly Employer” award for above-average involvement in the implementation of Employee Capital Plans.  This is the first award given to a primary school in the history of all eight editions of the programme. 

During the closing ceremony summing up the 8th edition of the “Responsible and Friendly Employer” programme, the award was presented to Hanna Szymańska, Principal of the Primary School in Radawiec Duży, which thus joined the group of companies and institutions with the highest involvement in Employee Capital Plans. By promoting positive examples, the initiative encourages other employers to look at the ECP as a solution designed to provide financial security for employees.  

"From the perspective of the institution managing ECP, I can say that the Primary School in Radawiec Duży, as an employer, shows great responsibility for the financial security of its employees"

- comments Piotr Sawczuk, ECP Customer Relations Director, PFR TFI.

The Primary School in Radawiec Duży, Lublin region, joined ECP in the fourth stage of implementation, together with other entities of the Konopnica Municipality, which was also awarded under the “Responsible and Friendly Employer” programme. Currently, 62% of the school employees are enrolled in the ECP scheme. This compares with an average participation rate of just over 46%, with only 26% in the public sector. As the school's representatives emphasise, they were persuaded to join ECP primarily by the system of contributions from the employer and subsidies from the state, which allows them to accumulate more funds than if they saved on their own.  

"We wanted as many of our school staff as possible to take advantage of the opportunity to join ECP. We have noticed in the projections available on the PUE ZUS website that the amounts of our future pension benefits are unlikely to be high. Some of our employees are only a few years away from retirement age. They were the ones who particularly wanted to make the best use of the remaining time to raise additional funds. ECP proved to be an ideal choice for us, as we can save more effectively than on our own. To show employees why it is so important to save with ECP, we held training sessions during school board meetings, which were conducted by our mentor from PFR TFI. These trainings have attracted many teachers from our school to the programme" 

- explains Hanna Szymańska, Principal of the Primary School in Radawiec Duży. 

The Primary School in Radawiec Duży is a good example of how, irrespective of the size and profile of the establishment, by involving the employer and with the support of a financial institution, it is possible to create the conditions for effective savings in Employee Capital Plans. The implementation and operation of the Employee Capital Plan for the school in Radawiec Duży is ensured by PFR TFI, which was selected as the institution managing the ECP for all entities of the Konopnica Municipality. The person responsible for cooperation with the municipality and its subsidiaries on the part of PFR TFI is Piotr Sawczuk, who coordinated the implementation process and also provided training for employees. As he emphasises,

"The employer's open approach has a key impact on employees' attitudes towards ECP. Thanks to the understanding of the importance of long-term savings by the city authorities and the school management, we were able to thoroughly familiarise staff with the principles of ECP, as well as demonstrate the benefits of participating in the programme. Every time I meet with school staff, I see genuine interest on their part. More and more teachers are finding that ECP is a very effective tool to ensure their financial security in the future." 

Piotr Sawczuk explains that the development of the programme in educational establishments is of particular importance – both for the participants themselves and from the point of view of promoting financial literacy:

"Teachers are a particularly important group among ECP participants, as they can create awareness of the need for long-term savings among young people through their own experience with the programme. In a few years, students will enter the labour market. It is very important that they have good models to help them make better financial decisions and choices" 

- he says. 

Employee Capital Plans are a programme based on solidarity and social responsibility. They were created so that employees could accumulate and multiply their private savings for the future with the support of their employer and the state.   

PFR TFI is part of the Polski Fundusz Rozwoju Capital Group, which comprises financial and advisory institutions supporting entrepreneurs, local governments and individuals investing in the sustainable social and economic development of the country. The entity manages assets with a total value of over PLN 13 billion, which places it among the largest institutions managing ECP.  

In the ECP scheme, PFR TFI has a specific role as the designated financial institution, ensuring universal access to the scheme and continuity in the management of participants' savings in the event that the original managing institution is unable to continue to operate the scheme.