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Ankica Mamić i Manuela Čelić Marušić
Episode · #343

MOJA MIROVINA Ankica Mamić i Manuela Čelić Marušić

Guest Ankica Mamić i Manuela Čelić MarušićHosted by Marijana MatkovićMay 3, 2026
About this episode
What you'll hear in this conversation

The idea for an association dedicated to Croatia's second and third pension pillars came to Ankica Mamić as she approached retirement herself, at 62. What started as a personal concern about her own future quickly revealed a larger systemic issue: over two million Croatian citizens, the actual owners of their pension fund assets, felt no ownership at all. Many even mistook their fund managers for the true proprietors, leading to widespread disengagement and a striking lack of financial literacy. Joining forces with Manuela Čelić Marušić, Ankica founded an organization to advocate for greater transparency and better management of these funds. Their conversation lays bare the stark realities of Croatia's pension system, from the heavy reliance on intergenerational solidarity to the fact that over 97% of citizens don't even choose their own fund manager. It's a system Manuela bluntly calls "absolutely not good," given demographic and economic trends. This episode explores the critical disconnect between legal ownership and practical control over one's retirement savings. It's a look at how a seemingly complex financial structure can leave millions feeling powerless, and what it takes to re-engage citizens with their own financial future.

Insights from the conversation
What to take from this episode
01
Ankica Mamić, at 62 and nearing retirement, initiated the association for second and third pillar members. The most potent calls for systemic change often arise when individuals realize the system's flaws directly threaten their own future, transforming abstract policy into personal urgency.
02
Over two million Croatian citizens are the actual owners of their pension funds, but many mistakenly believe foreign banks and insurers manage "their money." When a financial system obscures true ownership, it disempowers its participants, turning personal savings into a distant, abstract concept.
03
Over 97% of Croatian citizens do not choose their own pension fund manager; instead, a default algorithm assigns them. This widespread delegation, as Ankica puts it, is like giving your wallet to a "random passerby" — a stark indicator of deep distrust and disengagement from one's own long-term financial security.
04
The law defines assets in the second pillar as personal property, yet members cannot fully dispose of them upon retirement. When a system grants legal ownership without practical control, it creates a fundamental tension: what's legally yours isn't truly yours if you can't decide its fate.
05
Manuela points out that half of Croatian citizens cannot cover an unexpected expense equivalent to one monthly salary. Any call for increased private savings as a solution to pension insecurity must first contend with the reality that many lack the basic financial buffer to save anything extra.
06
The Croatian real estate boom, with rising prices despite a decreasing population, persists because "Croats only trust real estate." This preference, even against economic logic, reveals a profound lack of trust in financial institutions and long-term investment schemes beyond physical assets.
07
The current system funnels 75% of pension contributions into the first pillar, based on intergenerational solidarity, leaving only 5% of the total contribution for an individual's personal account in the second pillar. A system that prioritizes current payouts over individual accumulation, while socially minded, severely limits the potential for personal wealth building for future retirees.
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