Latest on Regulation & Reform – Page 386
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NewsUnion anger over Finnish retirement increase
[17:10 CET 05-03] FINLAND – The three trade union confederations in Finland are organising a national meeting of trustees, or shop stewards, next week against the government's plans to increase the retirement age without consultation.
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News
ECJ passes Heyday case back to UK High Court
[16:55 CET 05-03] EUROPE/UK – The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has argued it is "ultimately" for the UK High Court to decide whether the default retirement age of 65 breaches age discrimination legislation.
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NewsLetter will do instead of indexation label - AFM
[16:45 CET 05-03] NETHERLANDS - Pension funds will be allowed to inform their participants about the effects of the credit crisis on their pension in a letter, rather than through the prescribed label on indexation quality.
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News
Pension guarantee against law, says supervisor
[17:20 CET 04-03] AUSTRIA – The Austrian supervisor FMA has criticised ÖPAG Pensionskasse for offering guarantees in a recently-signed contract with the University of Vienna.
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News
Irish committee to examine NPRF ethical issues
[17:15 CET 04-03] IRELAND – The government has announced it is to establish an “interdepartmental committee” to examine the possibility of introducing ethical investment guidelines for the National Pension Reserve Fund (NPRF).
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NewsDonner to allow 'multi-fund' for smaller schemes
[15:30 CET 04-03] NETHERLANDS - Social affairs minister Piet Hein Donner is planning to unveil legislation which will allow small company pension funds to work together as a multi-fund scheme but leave the individual scheme’s assets ring-fenced.
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News
PME mulls pensions cut in 2010
[16:00 CET 03-03] NETHERLANDS - PME, the €18.7bn industry-wide pension fund for the metal engineering industry, could be forced to reduce pension benefits next year if the extended five-year recovery period is not given further flexibility.
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News
SP access opened to stimulate Danish economy
[15:30 CET 03-03] DENMARK - All Danish employees will from 1 June until the end of the year be allowed to access their special pension (SP) savings, even though they may not be retiring any time soon.
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UK council pensions cost €5bn in 2007-08
[17:00 CET 02-03] UK – Local authorities in the UK spent a total of £4.5bn (€5bn) in employer contributions to council staff pensions in 2007-08, the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) has claimed.
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Features
Italian regulator urges mergers
The new head of Italy’s pensions regulator has made it clear that a consolidation of pension funds is necessary for the future of the industry.
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Opinion Pieces
A consultant union
A new investment consulting player was born this year, the result of the merger between Mercer and Callan. The combined Mercer-Callan entity employs around 375 people, controls about 20% of the US market and has offices in 14 cities.
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News
Royal Mail pension may become new public scheme
[16:45 CET 27-02] UK – The Postal Services Bill published this week by the UK government includes provisions for the secretary of state for business and enterprise (BERR) to establish a "new public scheme" into which members of the Royal Mail Pension Plan (RMPP) could be transferred into.
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News
AFM to step up communications supervision
[16:45 CET 27-02] NETHERLANDS - The Authority Financial Markets (AFM) will step up its supervision of pension funds to ensure they properly apply the requirements of communicating to their participants.
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Smaller funds advised to claim tax refund
[16:20 CET 26-02] NETHERLANDS – Dutch pension funds are being advised to safeguard their rights to the refund of dividend withholding tax in European countries, as recent cases in both the Netherlands and France suggest taxes claimed in contravention of EU rules may also have been taken by governments elsewhere.
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News
Investments may need clearance under 'vague' TPR code
[15:15 CET 26-02] UK – The Pension Regulator's (TPR) draft code of practice on the 'material detriment' test is "too vague" and could lead to pension schemes requiring clearance on normal business activity such as changes in investment strategy, consulting firm Mercer has warned.
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News
EC advised to replace CEIOPS and CESR
[15:00 CET 26-02] EUROPE – A report assessing the shortcoming of European financial services regulation has advised the European Commission to replace the existing regulatory supervision system and improve monitoring by splitting the regulatory regime into banking, insurance and securities sectors.
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News
AFM prolongs short-selling ban after all
[16:50 CET 25-02] NETHERLANDS - The Dutch financial regulator AFM has made a surprise and extended its measures on short-selling, despite its earlier proposal to lift them.
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Pension contributions slowed in 2007 - ONS
[16:35 CET 25-02] UK – Total contributions to private pension schemes, including funded and unfunded occupational schemes, increased by 2% in 2007 to reach £85.2bn (€95.3bn) the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed.
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News
Danish tax reforms to "undermine pensions"
DENMARK - Thousands of Danes may be forced to stop or lower their payments into retirement savings if the government’s gets approval to reform tax laws.
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News
Schemes granted five years recovery – but is it enough?
[16:35 CET 24-02] NETHERLANDS - Dutch minister of social affairs and labour Piet Hein Donner has confirmed he will allow pension funds with a funding shortfall – now approximately half of all Dutch funds – to have up to five years to bring their solvency ratios up to 105%, rather than the three years the Dutch Pension Ac currently prescribes.
