Latest on Regulation & Reform – Page 374
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FeaturesIreland: Crisis spurs change
Nyree Stewart assesses regulatory changes to Ireland’s pension system
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FeaturesNetherlands: Pragmatism reigns
Mariska van der Westen and Liam Kennedy review the changes that The Hague has in mind for Dutch pension funds this year and next
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Norway: Little interest in new individual savings system
Christine Senior assesses regulatory developments around pensions in Norway
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FeaturesPortugal: Eyes on risk management
New regulations aim to strengthen awareness of risk, even though Portuguese pension funds have been less affected by the financial crisis than some, reports Nina Röhrbein
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FeaturesSpain: Pensions go off the radar
Spain’s ageing population means problems ahead for the pensions system, but proposals to deal with them are not expected until next year, reports Nina Röhrbein
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FeaturesSwitzerland: Shifting attitudes
The regulators are under pressure to allow cuts in benefit levels as funding problems increase, reports Emma Cusworth
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FeaturesUK: A chink of light
A small compromise in the treatment of accrued rights might signal a more flexible approach to benefit indexation in the future, finds Liam Kennedy
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Leading fund strategies
Nina Röhrbein outlines leading European pension funds’ investment strategies
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NewsIcelandic pensions gain from market pressures
[16:30 CEST 27-08 ICELAND – Icelandic pension funds have inadvertently enjoyed benefits from the recent financial turbulence as earlier moves by the government to force the sale of overseas assets have not been enforced, the sector has instead been given access to wider investment opportunities.
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Dutch retirement age should be 68 - economist
[16:50 CEST 26-08] NETHERLANDS - An economist has claimed the official retirement age for the state pension AOW should be raised beyond the government’s proposed retirement age of 67 and by an extra year to 68, to meet growing life expectancy in the Netherlands.
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NewsPensionskasse begets pensionskasse
[15:20 CEST 25-08] SWITZERLAND – The Swiss multi-employer pensionskasse Publica has been granted the right to set up a pension fund for its own staff.
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NewsConsultants see IAS19 'sticking plaster' as important first step
[15:30 CEST 25-08] GLOBAL - Pensions and investments consultants have expressed general support towards a what is described as a "sticking plaster" move by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), allowing companies to discount defined benefit post-retirement obligations against a government bond rate where they cannot comply with existing rules.
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IASB speeds up IAS19 discount rate review (updated)
[16:15 CEST 20-08] GLOBAL - The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has confirmed it wants to amend the source of the discount rate used for measuring post-retirement benefits, and has issued a shorter than usual timeframe on the consultation in the hope of signing off the change by the end ...
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Dutch insurers failing pensions duty of care - AFM
[15:30 CEST 20-08] NETHERLANDS - Many pension insurers are falling short in their duty of care in situations where contracts offer policyholders freedom of choice on investments, the communications watchdog Authority Financial Markets (AFM) has claimed.
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Crisis might speed up Bulgarian reform – CFO interview
BULGARIA – The financial crisis could boost plans to introduce a life-cycle model to the Bulgarian pension system, Miroslav Marinov, CFO of the pension fund management company Doverie, has told IPE.
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Polish second pillar in need of 'fine tuning' – KNF
POLAND – The Polish supervisory authority KNF sees three major challenges for a reform of the Polish second pillar, including lower risk profiles and capital requirements.
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German public funds improve risk management
GERMANY – German public pension funds have followed industry practice in adopting enhanced risk management provisions, even though they are not legally required to.
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Italian pension changes lie in wait
[16:35 CEST 11-08] ITALY - While the financial crisis has put a stop to immediate action in the Italian pension fund industry, changes remain on the horizon, say pension officials. And a reform of decree 703/96, relaxing the investment limits for closed and open pension funds may be one of ...
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Raising retirement to 70 may be necessary – consultants
[16:00 CEST 11-08] UK – Workers may eventually have to consider working until the age of 70 unless they put sufficient money into their pensions, according to consultants. However new research suggests employees are not even aware of the pending change to the UK retirement age so doubts have been ...
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IMF warns Swiss guarantee is at risk
[13:30 CEST 07-08] SWITZERLAND – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) doubts Swiss life insurances have enough buffers to continue guaranteeing a 4% annual interest rate on pension funds.
