Here's something that surprises most expats: your employer might already have a budget set aside to contribute to your pension — and you're not getting it. Not because you're ineligible, but because nobody told you about it, and the benefit doesn't activate automatically. You need to set up a pension product and submit it to HR. Once you do, the money starts flowing from the very next payroll.
How Employer Pension Contributions Work
Czech tax law incentivizes employers to contribute to employee pensions. Employer contributions to DPS or DIP accounts are tax-deductible for the company (up to 50,000 CZK per employee per year) and are not taxed as income for you. This makes it cheaper for your employer than giving you the same amount as a salary increase — and more valuable to you because you receive the full amount without income tax or social security deductions.
Comparison: If your employer gives you a 2,000 CZK salary increase, after tax and social contributions you receive roughly 1,300 CZK. If they instead contribute 2,000 CZK to your pension, you receive the full 2,000 CZK. Same cost to the employer, ~54% more value to you.
How Much Could You Get?
Employer contribution levels vary by company. Common ranges we see among our clients:
Smaller Czech companies: 500–1,000 CZK/month (6,000–12,000 CZK/year)
Mid-size companies and multinationals: 1,000–2,000 CZK/month (12,000–24,000 CZK/year)
Large corporates and tech companies: 2,000–3,000+ CZK/month (24,000–36,000+ CZK/year)
Some employers match your personal contribution (e.g., "we contribute 1 CZK for every 1 CZK you put in, up to 1,500 CZK/month"). Others contribute a fixed amount regardless of whether you contribute anything yourself.
Over 5 years at 1,500 CZK/month, employer contributions alone total 90,000 CZK — before investment growth. Over 10 years, that's 180,000+ CZK of essentially free money.
The Setup Process
Step 1: Open a DPS or DIP account. We compare providers, help you choose the right investment strategy, and handle all paperwork. This typically takes 1-2 days.
Step 2: We provide you with the pension contract confirmation document. You submit this to your HR department (or we can send it directly if you prefer).
Step 3: Your employer starts contributing from the next payroll cycle. You don't need to do anything else — the contributions are automatic each month.
What About Expats on Short-Term Stays?
This is one of the best-kept secrets: employer contributions are yours to keep even if you leave Czech Republic. Once the money is deposited into your DPS or DIP account, it belongs to you — there's no clawback. So even if you're only in Czechia for 2-3 years, every month of employer contributions is pure gain.
The only consideration is the DPS/DIP 10-year minimum holding period for tax-free withdrawal. But as we explain in our guide to pensions when leaving Czechia, you can keep the account open after leaving and withdraw later — or close early and only return your personal tax deductions (keeping all employer money).
Companies That Commonly Offer This
While we can't list every company, we consistently see employer pension benefits at: banks and financial institutions, large multinationals, IT and tech companies, automotive manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, and shared service centers (which employ many expats in Prague). If your company has more than 50 employees, there's a good chance they offer some form of pension benefit.
Not sure? We can check for you in minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
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It takes 5 minutes. If they do, we set everything up. If not, at least you'll know.
Let's TalkAbout the author: Nicolas Griss is the co-founder of Profi Expats, a CNB-registered financial advisory firm helping expats in Czech Republic since 2017.