BELGIUM - The Belgian Pension Funds Association (BVPI-ABIP) has named Lut Sommerijns as its new secretary general from January 1.

She will help the association as it seeks to contribute to making Belgium an attractive place for pan-European and international pension funds.

She has been a lawyer for more than 20 years, first as a partner at Linklaters de Bandt, then at Claeys & Engels. She's assisted many corporations, pension funds, multinationals and social partners in setting up, applying and implementing occupational pension schemes.

The association said new legislation is expected to come into force on January 1 2007 and will meet the challenges which the ageing of society brings about.

"The Belgian Pension Funds Association will assume an important role in all these new developments."

Chairman Philip Neyt said: "The politicians, the competent authorities, the corporations and the social partners are confronted with serious challenges related to the ageing of the population.

"I am very pleased to say that the Belgian Pension Funds Association will be able to count on Lut Sommerijns in order to assist the pension funds in these pan-European and international developments."

Sommerijns obtained her law degree ‘Licentiaat' at the Katholic University of Louvain and a Masters degree ‘LL.M.' at the University of California at Berkeley.