Latest on Regulation & Reform – Page 357
-
News
Europe needs 'consistent' pension system - CEIOPS
EUROPE - The chairman of the Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors (CEIOPS) has called for a more consistent pension system across Europe ahead of the publication of a green paper by the European Commission (EC) later this year.
-
News
UK corporates more wary of pensions risk than regulation
UK – Pension schemes now rank second only to market volatility as the chief risks facing UK employers, according to a survey by Aon Consulting.
-
NewsIcelandic pensions initiate review to halt critics
ICELAND – The Icelandic Pension Funds Association (IPFA) has agreed to arrange an independent investigation into the working methods and investment policies of pension schemes in the period before the economic collapse following public criticism of their actions.
-
News
Cable takes charge of abolition of UK default retirement age
UK – Detailed plans for phasing out of the default retirement age will be the responsibility of Vince Cable and the department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and not the department of work and pensions (DWP) according to Iain Duncan Smith.
-
News
UK auto-enrolment costs could cut pension benefits
UK - Auto-enrolment could cause over half of UK pension plans to lower the amount of benefits paid to members, a survey has revealed.
-
News
France admits raising state retirement age is logical
FRANCE - Increasing the statutory retirement age in France is one of the “logical” options for its government to examine, a senior minister has confirmed.
-
News
EDEKT Asset Management given fiduciary role for Greek pensions
GREECE - New laws on social security and pensions will give EDEKT Asset Management, which oversees the assets of Hellenic Telecommunications Pension Fund, a new role as the fiduciary of the country's social security funds.
-
News
Austrian funds increase equity allocation in Q1
AUSTRIA – Official figures for the first quarter performance show a significant increase in the equity holdings of Austrian pensionskassen, which are the subject of further reform proposals.
-
NewsQueen's Speech: UK to review State Pension Age
UK – The Queen today confirmed that the new coalition government in the UK would set a timetable for reviewing the State Pension Age.
-
News
Stewardship Code is 'last chance' says TUC
UK – The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has warned the proposed Stewardship Code for institutional investors "provides a last chance" to develop a corporate governance system that relies less on regulation to discipline companies and more on shareholder engagement and monitoring.
-
NewsAba calls for greater German Pensionsfonds flexibility
GERMANY – Pensionfonds will not thrive in Germany unless they are subject to less bureacracy and more regulatory flexibility, members of the German pension fund association Aba have argued.
-
News
IAS 19 proposals would drive down risk appetite – Towers Watson
GERMANY – Proposed changes to the accounting standards for pension benefits (IAS 19) could leave German schemes more risk-averse and increase the implicit costs for insolvency protection PSV, Alfred Gohdes, head of actuarial consulting at Towers Watson in Frankfurt noted.
-
NewsDWP to face a £535m spending cut ahead of new Pensions Bill
UK – The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will be expected to make savings of more than half a billion pounds this financial year, according to HM Treasury.
-
NewsSwedish roundup: AP7, Länsförsäkringar
SWEDEN – Swedish national buffer fund AP7 is cooperating with United Nations Environment Programme Financial Initiative (UNEP FI) and Ethix SRI Advisors to bulld guidelines on tar sands, while Länsförsäkringar has aborted plans to demutualise.
-
News
Romanian austerity measures threaten second pillar
ROMANIA – The Romanian finance ministry is seeking to cut the contribution rate to the second pillar from 2.5% to 0.5%, but is facing opposition from the country’s pensions industry.
-
News
Austria needs pension simplification not guarantees, experts warn
AUSTRIA – More guarantees in Austria's second pillar would serve only to complicate the system and fuel public doubts, according to advisory and academic experts.
-
News
Short-selling ban ‘red herring’ for wider euro-zone problems – ATP
EUROPE – Following widespread criticism from fund managers of Germany’s short selling ban, Danish pensions giant ATP has questioned whether it was really to blame for the subsequent currency and stock market falls.
-
News
EC postpones corporate governance review to June
EUROPE – The European Commission's green paper on corporate governance will now be published in the first week of June.
-
News
Auto-enrolment still on track as new UK government rings changes
UK – The new coalition government in the UK has confirmed it will continue with existing plans for incoming auto-enrolment regulations, while its intentions to part-privatise Royal Mail has raised questions over the future of the organisation’s pension deficit.
-
News
EU legislative machine failed - Berès
EUROPE – The EU’s current legislative programming procedure has been shown to be too cumbersome and in need of replacement, according to a draft report on the financial crisis.
