Latest on Regulation & Reform – Page 358
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UK think tank calls for auto-enrolment into ISAs
UK – Pensions and individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) should be brought closer together through tax harmonisation and auto-enrolment into ISAs in an effort to boost long-term savings in the UK, a report from the Centre for Policy Studies has argued.
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Fischer drops hints on EC pension reform green paper
EUROPE – Further hints of the contents of the European Commission's forthcoming green paper on EU pension legislation were aired at a conference in Brussels yesterday.
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Asset managers to focus on building trust, increasing transparency
GLOBAL – A large majority of asset managers worldwide consider clients' trust and transparency as the biggest challenges during the coming years, according to consultant KPMG.
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BP oil spill triggers call for tighter UK ESG pension rules
UK – The government is being urged to tighten regulations requiring pension schemes to disclose what environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues are taken into account in their investment policy following the impact of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill on the BP share price and its consequences for pension ...
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EU Council calls for better co-ordination on pensions
EUROPE – The European Council has stressed the need for urgent action to enhance the long-term sustainability of pensions across Europe, following the publication of an interim joint report on pensions.
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UK RDR changes may deter pension saving
UK – Changes to UK regulation forcing employees to pay for advice and management costs upfront rather than by commission could lead them to opt-out of pension saving once auto-enrolment is introduced, Creative Benefit Solutions has warned.
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Cuts to UK pension tax relief may cost industry £2.5bn, says Standard Life
UK – Proposals to phase out the higher rate of pensions tax relief could cost employers, pension schemes and providers £1.05bn (€1.27bn), while the cost to employees could be a further £1.38bn, Standard Life has claimed.
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Hungary may yet raid private pension schemes, industry experts warn
HUNGARY – Hungary's new government may yet return to recently shelved plans to raid the country's private pension schemes to help finance public debt, according to industry figures.
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European Commission calls on Italy to raise retirement age for women
ITALY – The European Commission (EC) has urged the Italian government to increase the minimum retirement age for women in a bid to speed up the reform of the country’s retirement laws.
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Trustees need to prepare covenant arrangements, says UK Pensions Regulator
UK – Trustees should prepare plans to access employer support to the scheme, such as contingent assets, ahead of time, instead of waiting to ask for extra security when it would weaken the sponsoring employer, The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has said.
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Handful of Pensionskassen failed 2009 stress test, BaFin says
GERMANY – Only six Pensionskassen failed their stress tests for the year to the end of 2009, according to BaFin, the German supervisory authority.
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Pension fund investors must protect against BP-style financial risk, says lobby group
UK – Doubt as to whether BP will pay out the next quarterly dividend have underlined the need for pension funds to protect against future financial risk, according to FairPensions, a group lobbying for UK pension funds and managers to adopt responsible investment practices.
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Dutch social partners agree on retirement at 66
NETHERLANDS – The Dutch social partners have agreed on a flexible retirement age for second-pillar pensions and the state pension AOW by linking them to life expectancy.
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German public auditor calls for risk-free pension fund investment
GERMANY – The public auditing board of the German province of Saxony-Anhalt has criticised the finance ministry for taking "unnecessary risks", such as investing pension fund assets in equities.
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Dutch DC providers still fail on cost transparency – AFM
NETHERLANDS – Insurers still do not provide sufficient clarity about the costs they charge on defined contribution (DC) arrangements, causing overly high retirement expectations among members, according to the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM).
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Recession delays retirement for one in four Irish workers
IRELAND – A quarter of Irish workers admit the current economic climate means they will have to retire later than planned, particularly as more than a fifth of those aged 55 and over have not made retirement preparations, a study from Mercer has revealed.
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Amended EU directive targets risk in bank bonuses
EUROPE – A new version of the EU’s Capital Requirements Directive, due to be voted on this month, will place limitations on banks in relation to their remuneration packages, and could make them less risky as investments for pension funds.
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Swedish roundup: Pioneer, fee structures, Max Matthiessen, Länsförsäkringar Liv
SWEDEN – Mats Langensjö, the head of Nordic institutional business at Pioneer Investments, is leaving the company as a result of a change in focus away from the defined contribution (DC) pension sector.
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EC warns Italy over pension age discrimination
ITALY – The European Commission has warned Italy it needs to comply with a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling to equalise pension ages for civil servants or it may face another court hearing.
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Credit rating agencies face centralised EU supervision
EUROPE – The incoming European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) will take control of the registration and supervision of credit rating agencies, the European Commission has confirmed.
