At present, occupational pension providers operate for the most
part only in the Member State in which they are established. A firm
which has a presence in all 15 Member States must therefore call on
the services of 15 different providers. For a multinational, this
could cost about €40 million a year. Substantial economies of scale
will be achieved if a single institution can manage all the various
schemes of a firm operating in several Member States.
The proposed Directive – which now needs approval from the
Council of Ministers – covers the activities and supervision of
Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision, or IORPs. These
institutions, such as pension funds, superannuation schemes and
"pensions-kassen", cover about 25% of the EU's labour force and
manage assets worth €2,500 billion (29% of EU GDP).
The new regime allows for mutual recognition of Member States'
supervisory regimes. An IORP will be able to manage the schemes of
firms located in other Member States while applying the prudential
rules of the Member State in which it is established.
The proposed Directive will nevertheless ensure that the social
and labour legislation of the host Member States (i.e. those
applicable to the relationship between the sponsoring undertaking
and the members) will continue to apply.
Following the Parliament's vote, the Commission said it is
optimistic that the EU's Council of Ministers will be able to
accept the Parliament's amendments and move to final adoption of
the Directive over the coming weeks under the "co-decision"
procedure.
"This," said the Commission, "will be a major step towards the
creation of an Internal Market for occupational pensions, under a
prudential framework strong enough to protect the rights of future
pensioners."
It concluded, "The Directive will ensure that occupational
pensions transactions attain a high level of security and
efficiency".
