A study fund is a short-to-medium-term saving tool that is intended for employees and self-employed people, by means of which you can enjoy tax benefit for deposits as well as exemption from tax on the profits for deposits up to a defined ceiling. After six years of saving, or after three years of saving (for purposes of study or after retirement age), the money accumulated in the fund becomes liquid and can be withdrawn as a lump sum. As stated, the money can also be withdrawn after three years saving for the purpose of professional study (in the case of an employee, permission is required from the employer). For employees this is in fact a benefit given by the employer. There are sectors in which opening a study fund is part of a collective agreement that commits the employer, but in most workplaces it is a benefit that the employer is not obliged to give the employee.