News
PensionsEurope today published a statement on the Covid-19 Crisis 2020. You can read it here.
A group of financial associations — including PensionsEurope — has written to the European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen to call for the new Commission to ensure that the global competitiveness of European financial services is a key objective in its policymaking.
The associations fully support the Commission’s objectives of preserving and improving financial stability, protecting savers and investors, and ensuring flows of capital to where it is needed. Indeed, the need to maintain a robust regulatory framework for the financial sector and the Commission’s ambition to promote Europe’s competitiveness on the global stage are two sides of the same coin.
The associations also called on the Commission to:
- Ensuring an international level playing field and focus on eliminating the potential for any regulatory arbitrage between Europe and other jurisdictions that could create competitive disadvantages for European companies.
- Continue working with the European Parliament and the Council of the EU to ensure compliance with the existing inter-institutional agreement on better law-making. When carrying out impact assessments, impact analysis should also be done with global competitiveness in mind.
- Rigorously implement the “one in — one out” approach to regulation proposed by the new Commission. The compliance burden and risks for the EU financial services industry increased considerably during the last Commission’s mandate, mainly due to EU texts being developed in silos and without recognising that multiple EU texts might apply at the same time at the point of sale, creating overload and duplication, which in turn impacts global competitiveness considerably.
- Acknowledge that a globally competitive and vibrant European financial services industry is vital for making the Capital Markets Union a reality.
The PensionsEurope Secretariat is currently looking for a Director/Associate Director, Marketing.
PensionsEurope, the voice for workplace pensions and other funded pensions in Europe, is looking for a Director/Associate Director to join its Brussels secretariat. We represent 24 national associations of pension funds in EU Member States and other European countries. PensionsEurope, through its members, covers pensions of over 110 million Europeans and represents more than € 4 trillion in assets. PensionsEurope also has 26 Corporate and Supporter Members which are various service providers and stakeholders that work with pension funds.
This position is new in PensionsEurope and the purpose is to increase membership and develop revenue income as well as improve visibility and reputation of PensionsEurope.
The Director/Associate Director is responsible for membership recruitment, retention and relations management, sponsor acquisition and sponsor relations for e.g. our Annual Conference and other events as well as other commercial activities to generate income. The Director/Associate Director is expected to represent PensionsEurope in various events and manage the marketing and communication activities of PensionsEurope.
A successful candidate will have substantial experience in developing membership marketing, communications and plans that meet business objectives. He/she can demonstrate experience in operating at a senior level in a complex organisation and building and maintaining effective relationships and engagement. The candidate should have demonstrable commercial sales and business development experience, preferably in a membership, not-for-profit or third sector organisation. As the Director/Associate Director will need to represent PensionsEurope in various events knowledge of current pension and financial services issues would be desirable.
The Director/Associate Director will report directly to the Secretary General/CEO.
This new position in PensionsEurope will be filled for a fixed term to be agreed.
The deadline for applications is Friday 27 March 2020.
Please send your CV and cover letter in English to the attention of Mr. Matti Leppälä, Secretary General/CEO at: info@pensionseurope.eu or by regular mail to PensionsEurope, Montoyerstraat 23 rue Montoyer, 1000 Brussels, Belgium. For further information please contact the Secretariat at +32 2 289 14 14.
PensionsEurope has answered to EIOPA’s consultation concerning technical advice, implementing and regulatory technical standards for the Pan-European Personal Pension Product (PEPP). You can find our answer here, and our press release here
EIOPA published the results of 2019 IORP stress test on 17 December 2019, and you can read PensionsEurope press release here. The stress test results confirm IORPs’ countercyclical behaviour. It is important that legislation continues to allow that, as IORPs have an important role in stabilising financial markets.
PensionsEurope is happy that EIOPA also used the cash flow analysis approach to assess the financial position of IORPs, as it sheds new and more relevant light on the financial position of DB and hybrid schemes. It gives more insight in the timing and size of cash flows and can be related to economic indicators such as GDP and consumption.
PensionsEurope is willing and ready to provide its expertise to EIOPA to further define its stress testing methodology in order to address all specificities of the IORPs sector.
PensionsEurope paper on Good Decumulation of Defined Contribution Pension Plans throughout Europe, published on 10 December 2019, explores the pros and cons of decumulation options, both in cases where there is no (or very limited) choice available to members at retirement and cases where members have choice. It continues the series of PensionsEurope publications on DC issues which include Principles for Securing Good Outcomes for Members of Defined Contribution Pension Plans throughout Europe, Pension Design Principles applied to modern Defined Contribution solutions and Key Principles of Good Governance for Workplace Defined Contribution Pension Plans throughout Europe. These papers are addressed to regulators and policymakers across the EU, researchers, and not least to social partners and those running pension plans.
A large group of financial services trade associations— including PensionsEurope — has raised concerns in a joint letter to the European Commission regarding the current application timeline for new EU disclosure rules for sustainable investments and sustainability risks.
Yesterday EIOPA published four Opinions to assist National Competent Authorities (NCAs) in the implementation of the Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provisions - the IORP II Directive.
You can find PensionsEurope press release here.
PensionsEurope’s brochure “Europe needs to shift gears in pensions” contains PensionsEurope’s policy recommendations for the EU’s next 5-years programme by highlighting why supplementary pensions matter, and why and how EU policy needs to support supplementary pensions. It e.g. stresses that the EU should support the development and strengthening of supplementary pensions. Pension system design is a matter of national competence, but the EU should act as a facilitator to exchange information and best practices on how to ensure the long-term sustainability and adequacy of pension systems.
The brochure also contains various concrete proposals for the new EC. For instance, based on the outcome of the EC’s fitness check on the supervisory reporting, we expect concrete actions from the new EC. Furthermore, we invite the EC to include in its next 5-years programme our proposal on an EU tax register of recognised pension institutions. You can find our press release here.
PensionsEurope’s brochure on supervisory reporting discusses appropriate reporting requirements for pension funds. It stresses that relevant and comparable information about pensions in Europe is needed, but the requirements need to be fit for purpose, as all costs will ultimately be paid by pension fund members and/or any associated plan sponsor (the members’ employer).
Pension funds are, first and foremost, institutions with a social purpose active on the financial markets. Therefore, they cannot be compared directly to financial institutions such as banks and insurers. A one-size-fits-all approach to applying European legislation and supervisory requirements to pension funds would be detrimental as it would not consider the heterogeneity and complexity of the different combined first and second pillar systems.You can find the press release here.