We constantly improve the range of services offered to our customers and therefore offer to invest in Tuleva's pension funds through Coop Pank's internet and mobile banking. Our aim here is to help people in Estonia save more effectively.
Tuleva shares a lot of our values: both of our companies are Estonian-owned, and we both contribute to promoting the financial well-being of people in the country. Likewise, we both aim to encourage people to think about saving – including those who, for a variety of reasons, have never really given it any thought. Stage 1 of our partnership involves giving Coop clients the chance to start saving in the Tuleva III Pillar Pension Fund via the Coop website.
Further down the line, our partnership will guarantee a win-win-win scenario for Coop Pank, Tuleva and our clients, which is to say we’ll prove that 1+1=3.
Tuleva is an asset management company that takes the form of a cooperative. Its aim is to grow the assets of people in Estonia, creating the best conditions for investing money long-term for anyone wishing to join. Its founders include Tõnu Pekk, Indrek Neivelt, Taavet Hinrikus, Kadi Lambot and other well-known Estonians. Tuleva’s III pillar has already become one of the country’s biggest pension funds. The association’s principles are offering low fees and investing solely in good funds.
Tuleva introduced modern, low-cost index funds to Estonia. This created an opportunity for all Estonian savers to benefit from the growth of companies driving the global economy. Tuleva’s pension funds focus on long-term returns and are not concerned with short-term market fluctuations.
Index funds follow a specific and measurable financial index — a list of selected securities. Therefore, index funds are a form of passive investing, where the fund manager does not actively try to pick individual stocks or other assets. As a result, managing the fund is cost-effective, and the investor does not have to pay high fees like in actively managed funds.
Coop Pank clients can conveniently log in to Tuleva via the mobile app or Internet bank, switch their second pillar fund, increase their second pillar contribution rate, and start saving in the third pillar.
A pension account is a personal account created in the pension registry, which is managed by Pensionikeskus. The account consolidates data related to a person’s mandatory funded pension (known as the second pillar) and voluntary funded pension (known as the third pillar) pension funds.
You can view your pension account information on the Tuleva website, on the Pensionikeskus page, as well as in the Coop Pank mobile app and Internet bank — under the “Savings” menu in the second and third pillar sections.
One of the main differences between the II pillar and III pillar is how controbutions are made. In the II pillar, payments are automatically deducted from your gross salary: either 2%, 4%, or 6%. On top of that, the state adds 4% from the 33% social tax calculated on your salary. In the III pillar, you decide how much and how often to contribute.
Another difference is the way you can use the money you save. Assets in the II pillar can be used either when you reach retirement age (or up to five years beforehand) or by exiting the system before retirement. III pillar savings can be withdrawn in part or in full at any time, as desired. It’s important to note that the taxation of withdrawals from both the II and III pillars depends on the timing of the withdrawal.
Units of second and third pillar pension funds are considered inheritable assets. This means that if a person passes away, their heirs can either transfer the units to their own pension account or withdraw them in cash (in which case the state withholds 22% income tax). No prior application from the account holder is required. Read more.
Yes. In addition to Tuleva’s internal rules and risk management procedures, the safety of your money is ensured by four key factors:
The II pillar or mandatory funded pension forms part of the Estonian pension system. When you save in the II pillar, a personal pension account is set up for you, and monthly contributions are automatically paid from your salary. You can contribute 2%, 4%, or 6% of your gross salary tax-free. In addition to your own contribution, the state adds 4% from the social tax to your II pillar account. Although contributing to II pillar slightly reduces the amount you earn from the I pillar, saving in the II pillar is still more beneficial in the long run. The II pillar belongs to you – you decide how and when to use it.
When choosing a fund, it’s important to find answers to the following questions:
You can change your selected fund later if you wish.
Changing your fund is done by submitting an application and is free of charge.
You can either exchange your existing fund units for units in another pension fund, or keep your current units in the same fund and direct your new monthly contributions to a different fund.
New second pillar contributions can only be directed to one fund — this is called the active fund. You can change your active fund at any time by submitting an application. The application takes effect immediately, and new contributions will be transferred to the new pension fund starting from the next payment.
Units already accumulated in the second pillar can be exchanged for another fund three times a year on designated dates. The deadlines for submitting an exchange application are March 31, July 31, and November 30.
You can submit the application via the Tuleva, the Pensionikeskus website, or through the Coop Pank mobile app or Internet bank.
Yes, even those who haven’t previously joined the system can start saving in the second pillar. The deadlines for submitting a joining application are similar to those for fund exchanges — the end of March, July, and November — and saving begins five months after the deadline has passed.
To submit the necessary application, go to the Savings > Second Pillar section in the Coop Pank mobile app or internet bank, and log in to your pension account via Tuleva.
Tuleva offers two second pillar pension funds: the Tuleva World Stocks Pension Fund and the Tuleva World Bonds Pension Fund. Most Tuleva savers are in the World Stocks Pension Fund, as it is designed for growing your assets. The World Bonds Pension Fund is a very conservative fund, not intended for asset growth, but rather for preserving the value of your savings. It may be considered by people who plan to withdraw money from the second pillar within the next five years.
You can withdraw money from the second pillar at any time that suits you by submitting an application via Pensionikeskus or your internet bank. Before reaching early retirement age, the money can only be withdrawn in full, and the state will deduct income tax. After exiting, you won’t be able to rejoin the second pillar for 10 years.
Starting from the age of 60, you can choose when, how, and to what extent to make withdrawals from the second pillar. The most tax-efficient option is to set up monthly fund pension payments, which are tax-free. In this case, a small portion of your fund units is automatically sold each month, the proceeds are transferred to your bank account, and the remaining assets continue to grow in the fund.
Withdrawals are processed three times a year, and the application must be submitted at least five months in advance. The schedule follows the same deadlines as fund switching in the second pillar — at the end of March, July, and November.
Yes, slightly — but overall, the second pillar is much more beneficial. When you save money in the second pillar, the state adds a tax incentive to your contributions. As a result, you earn slightly fewer pension components in the first pillar each year, which means that your future state pension will be a bit smaller. The first pillar is the state’s promise to provide you with a monthly income in retirement. The second pillar, however, is your personal savings held in your pension account, which you can access and use at any time.
The III pillar or voluntary funded pension also forms part of the pension system. Payments can be made into the III pillar at times of your choosing, and the money you save in it can be used at any time.
Payments into the III pillar are exempt from income tax up to 15% of your taxable gross income, but no more than €6000 per year.
The state offers a significant tax incentive for third pillar pension funds: 22% of the income tax paid on your contributions is refunded, which you can either reinvest in the third pillar or use for other purposes.
There are also tax benefits when withdrawing money from the third pillar: if you’ve been saving in a third pillar fund for at least five years, a reduced tax rate of 10% applies to withdrawals made after the age of 60 (instead of the standard 22%).*
While all working individuals contribute 6–10% of their gross salary to the second pillar each month (2%, 4%, or 6% from salary and 4% from social tax), you can contribute significantly more to the third pillar. However, it’s important to note that the income tax refund applies only to contributions up to 15% of your annual gross income (with a maximum of €6,000 per year).
You can withdraw money from the third pillar at any time, but income tax must be paid on the amount withdrawn.
*If you started saving in the third pillar before 2021, you can begin making withdrawals at the reduced 10% tax rate already after your 55th birthday.
Tuleva invests passively in the shares of publicly listed companies that drive the global economy, while keeping costs as low as possible. This ensures that the returns of Tuleva’s funds closely follow the average performance of global securities markets.
Yes, you can save in the third pillar even if you haven’t joined the second pillar or have stopped contributing to it. If you haven’t joined the second pillar, then when you submit an application to choose a third pillar fund, Pensionikeskus will automatically open a pension account for you, where your third pillar units will be collected.
Yes, you can save in multiple third pillar funds — there are no restrictions.
Changing your fund is done by submitting an application and is free of charge.
You can submit the application on Pensionikeskus website or the Tuleva website, which can also be accessed via the Coop Bank mobile app or the Internet bank by selecting the "Saving" menu and then the "II and III pillar" section. On Tuleva's website, you can also submit an application to transfer assets from other third pillar funds to Tuleva’s third pillar fund.
The application takes effect within four working days.
To save in the third pillar, you need to make the contributions yourself. This can be done conveniently via the Coop Pank mobile app or internet bank. You can choose whether to set up a standing order or make one-time payments.
The money is transferred to Pensionikeskus, which processes the transaction and purchases units in the selected fund. The units will appear in your third pillar pension account by the end of the next working day.
You can contribute any amount to the third pillar — there is no minimum or maximum. However, it’s important to note that the income tax refund applies only to contributions up to 15% of your annual gross income, with a maximum of €6,000 per year.
To help calculate your optimal contribution, you can use Tuleva’s third pillar calculator. It’s not recommended to contribute more than the limit, as the excess amount will not be eligible for a tax refund.
There are two ways to benefit from the third pillar tax incentive:
You can withdraw money from the third pillar at any time and in any amount that suits you. The state automatically withholds income tax from withdrawals as follows:
Withdrawals are made based on an application. You can submit the application on the Tuleva website or via the Pensionikeskus website. The money will be transferred to your designated bank account by the fourth working day after submitting the application.
Making withdrawals does not limit your ability to continue saving or to benefit from third pillar tax incentives in the future.
If you want to save money for your child using the third pillar, it’s more reasonable to do so through your own pension account. While larger banks allow you to open a third pillar pension account in your child’s name and transfer money there, unfortunately, you won’t receive any income tax refund on those contributions.
The tax incentive applies to the person whose name the pension account is registered under — not the person making the contributions. Additionally, only individuals with taxable income in the current year are eligible for the refund. That’s why it’s wiser to make contributions intended for your child to your own or your spouse’s third pillar account.
Currently, it is not possible to access a child’s third pillar account via the Coop Pank or Tuleva websites. You can only access the account through the internet bank of the institution where the third pillar account was originally opened for the child.