Latest on Regulation & Reform – Page 444
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News
Virtual pooling will not be part of UCITS – for now
EUROPE – The EU’s directorate general on the internal market and services suggests that measures to facilitate virtual pooling not be included in any changes to the UCITS directive at this stage. It called instead for the focus to remain on traditional master-feeder structures.
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Portability directive takes second hurdle
EUROPE – The European Parliament’s employment committee (EMPL) has voted on EU’s pension portability directive and the matter is scheduled to be out to a plenary vote on May 22.
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UK chancellor promises £6bn to pension victims
UK – Gordon Brown will quadruple the amount of money available to members of bankrupt occupational pension schemes.
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Pension benefits raised for the first time since 2003
GERMANY – The 20 million pensioners in Germany are to see their state benefit rise for the first time since 2003, according to social affairs minister Franz Müntefering.
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Austria set to boost second pillar
AUSTRIA – Employees might soon find their bonuses going into a pension fund rather than cash into their hands.
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German minister hints at concession on deferred compensation
GERMANY – Social affairs minister Franz Müntefering says he’s willing to consider compensation for workers if the government ultimately abolishes a social tax exemption for deferred compensation.
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Hoogervorst expected as financial markets head
NETHERLANDS – Former Dutch welfare minister, Hans Hoogervorst is expected to succeed outgoing head of the Dutch financial watchdog, Authority Financial Markets (AFM), Arthur Docters van Leeuwen.
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DC members save towards “soup kitchen” - Tomlinson
UK – Current defined contribution schemes will not provide sufficient means for members in retirement, Lindsay Tomlinson, vice-chairman of Barclays Global Investors, told delegates at the NAPF investment conference in Edinburgh today.
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Supreme Court demands disclosure on fund kickbacks
GERMANY – The federal supreme court’s ruling last week on so-called kickback payments could lead to a change in fee structures, says leading German investment fund lawyer, Sven Zeller.
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NAPF polls industry on Myners reform
UK – The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) is asking trustees, members and advisers to supply their views on the Myners principles.
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CalPERS settles for €89m in Time case
GLOBAL - The $230bn (€175bn) California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) has recovered $117.7m (€89.2m) from media firm Time Warner in a settlement of a lawsuit brought in 2003.
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Thomas Steffen elected new CEIOPS chair
EUROPE – The Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pension Supervisors (CEIOPS) has elected Thomas Steffen, Germany’s top insurance regulator, as its new chairman, effective from March 12.
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Employers under fire from Irish Pensions Board
IRELAND – Less than half of employees are offered access to a pension, while just 6% have approached their employer about gaining access, according to research by the Irish Pensions Board.
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Germans to work two years longer
GERMANY – German parliament today approved a government proposal to raise the retirement age from 65 to 67.
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Ireland to consider auto-enrolment
IRELAND – A Green Paper on the future of Irish pension provision due to be delivered this month will consider the UK’s auto-enrolment proposals, social affairs minister Seamus Brennan has said.
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EU to launch pension annuity probe
BRUSSELS – The European Commission has issued a tender for a study on how current products on the EU market that convert accrued assets in pension funds into annuities are developing and whether they are adequate, modern and sustainable.
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UK industry cold on FSA, pension regulation merger
UK – Industry representatives have taken a negative view of a proposed merger of the FSA and pension regulation bodies.
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Swiss keep pension supervision outside new authority
SWITZERLAND – The Swiss parliament has rejected proposals to merge the supervision of pension funds with that of other financial institutions.
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Features
Multinationals play a waiting game
Belgium has set itself up as a welcoming destination for pan-European pension funds. Now it must sell its attractions abroad. Nina Röhrbein reports
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Features
New benchmark for the pensions industry
The new legal framework for pensions in Belgium should lead to greater transparency and more responsibility being exercised by the board of trustees, writes Karel Stroobants
