Eversheds comment: EU member states need to remain vigilant despite EIOPA pensions opinion

• Global
• United Kingdom

14-04-2016

Commenting on EIOPA’s Opinion to the EU Institutions on a Common Framework for Risk Assessment and Transparency for IORPs, Francois Barker, Head of Pensions at Eversheds, says:

“I am pleased that EIOPA has listened to what we and others have been saying for a long time and decided not to recommend the introduction of a more stringent funding requirement for European pension plans. Any such move would have added hundreds of billions of Euros to the liabilities of European pension plans and caused significant damage to the European economy, undermining the Commission’s aims of promoting growth and jobs.

“However, I am disappointed that EIOPA has not ruled this out completely for the future and member states such as the UK, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and Belgium will need to remain vigilant to the threat of this coming back on the agenda in a few years’ time. Indeed, as it currently stands, the draft new IORP Directive would require the Commission to review the solvency requirements for IORPs within six years of the Directive coming into force.

“Although EIOPA is ruling out a new funding requirement, for now, it is recommending that IORPs across Europe be required to produce and disclose, on a regular basis, a standardised risk assessment using EIOPA’s common funding methodology. Given the significant differences between pension systems and pension plans around Europe it is questionable what value this will have and how much it will add to member protection.”

• Francois Barker
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