Individual Retirement Accounts In Poland: What Are The Options?
Find out where to open IKE and IKZE accounts
Despite popular belief, foreigners are entitled to open and benefit from tax-efficient Individual Retirement Accounts in Poland (IKE and IKZE). In my previous post I’ve discussed on what IKE and IKZE are and their characteristics. Here I’d like to focus on where you can open these accounts and what investment and saving products are available in Poland.
Before I begin, I’d like to point your attention to the fact that I’m not affiliated with any of the banks or companies mentioned below and I wasn’t paid to mention any of them in this post.
Check For Expats in Poland
Saving Accounts
The very first option most of the people are familiar with is a saving account offered by banks. Below few banks that offer IKE and/or IKZE accounts in alphabetical order.
BNB Paribas
Interest rate (year): WIBOR 3M (5.85% at the time of writing this)
Bank Millennium
Interest rate: 3%
ING
Name: IKZE Oszczędnościowe
Interest rate (year): 4%
mBank
Interest rate: 5.10%
(!) Note that some banks may refuse to open you a banking account because of your legal status in Poland and will require a residence card (karta pobytu) or permanent residency card.
Polish Retail Government Bonds (Obligacje skarbowe)
There are two banks that offer Polish out of the market retail government or treasury bonds: PKO BP and Pekao. However, when it comes to offering these products as part of IKE/IKZE accounts, only PKO BP works in this market.
(!) Out of the market means they are not publicly traded, but issues by Ministry of Finance and sold via PKO BP and Pekao to retail clients, who in turn may sell them to the issuer only. Publicly traded bons can be bought brokerage firms (described below),
You may check here their current interest rates.
Note that PKO BP will get their management fee.
TFI (Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych)
These are Investment Funds that usually part of banking or insurance group. There is no point in listing them here, because most if not all major banks and insurance companies have this kind of products.
In most of the cases you may choose a fund according to your risk tolerance, investment horizon and market preferences.
(!) Pay attention to fees though, including management fees, as they usually not that low and may eat out considerable portion of your income.
Brokerage Firms
These firms offer us opportunities to invest in whatever markets we want (as long as they offer them). We could divide all firms into those that allow to invest abroad and the rest. Since most if not all allow investing in Polish markets, we’ll focus only on those that also give us exposure to foreign markets (the list is not exhaustive, would appreciate any additional firms I’ve missed).
BOŚ
Offer: IKE and IKZE
Commission: 0.29%:
NYSE, NASDAQ, NYSE-MKT, LSE, XETRA from 14 PLN/ 4 EUR/ 4 USD/ 4 GBP
EURONEXT from 19 PLN/ 5 EUR/ 5 USD/ 5 GBP
Currency exchange fees are applied (first 3 exchanges for each account during a year are free)
So it makes sense to invest up to 3 times a year to avoid currency exchange fees, if you invest in assets nominated in any currency then PLN.
BOŚ has a wide range of products both in local and foreign markets.
mBank
Offer: IKE and IKZE
Polish markets commission: 0.39% min 5 PLN
Foreign markets commission: 0.29% min 14 PL
Currency exchange fees may be applied
Santander Bank
Offer: IKE and IKZE
Polish markets commission:
0.39% min 5 PLN for stocks
0.19% min 5 PLN for bonds
Foreign markets commission 0.29%:
USA, Germany, France, Italy, UK, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands: 5 EUR/USD/GBP/CHF or 25 PLN
20 EUR/USD/GBP/CHF or 250 SEK or 100 PLN
XTB
Offer: IKE (IKZE is on its way)
Commission: 0% for up to 100,000 EUR monthly turnover (0.2% min 10 EUR for anything above that)
Currency exchange fees are applied (0.5%)
XTB offers interest on non-invested funds (EUR, USD, PLN), if they’re transferred to your account, but not yet on your IKE account.
These are the main options for using tax-efficient individual retirement accounts in Poland. Make sure to read carefully my post about IKE/IKZE, as well as check current and updated terms and conditions of these accounts.1
Disclaimer: I solely provide general investment education for informational purposes and do not provide investment services or personalized investment advice. Always invest through a licensed financial services company. Even when following the best possible investment practices, investing in the financial markets involves the risk of loss. You should always consider your individual circumstances carefully before making any investment decisions. All investment decisions remain your own responsibility. Past performance does not guarantee future results.