EIOPA has announced the composition of its Occupational Pensions Stakeholder Group (OPSG) for its new mandate, which, following changes introduced by reform of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs), will be a year-and-a-half longer than usual.

The composition of the ESAs’ stakeholder groups was also affected by the reform, due to an amendment of the European Parliament.

This reduced the number of academics to four from “at least five”, increased the number of IORP representatives to 13 and fixed the number of other stakeholder representatives at 13.

The stakeholder groups of the different ESAs had at the time expressed unhappiness about the changes.

Sixty-six applications to join the OPSG for its next mandate were received by EIOPA. The supervisory authority said it aimed to achieve geographical and gender balance, “and an appropriate representation of different stakeholders”.

Fifteen of the 30 members were not on the most recent OPSG. They include the following pension fund representatives:

  • Lukasz Budzynski, Sanofi European Pension Fund
  • Paul Le Bihan, Groupe MNCAP
  • Matti Leppälä, PensionsEurope
  • Antonello Motroni, Assoeuropea
  • Onno Steenbeek, APG Group
  • Ioannis Tzanakos, Hellenic Union of Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision

Leppälä’s appointment marks his return to the OPSG, which he was a member of for the maximum two consecutive terms, as vice-chair 2013-16 and chair until September 2018. Budzynski is another example of someone who has previously been on the OPSG, but had to sit out its most recent term.

The following IORP representatives were reappointed to the group:

  • Francesco Briganti, Cross Border Benefits Alliance Europe
  • Valdemar Duarte, Portuguese Association of Investment Funds, Pension Funds and Asset Management (APFIPP)
  • Olav Jones, Insurance Europe
  • Christian Lemaire, Amundi Pension Fund
  • Jerry Moriarty, Irish Association of Pension Funds (IAPF)
  • Stefan Nellshen, Bayer Pensionskasse
  • Philip Neyt, PensioPlus

The full membership, including employee, beneficiary and professional association representatives, and academics, can be found here.

EIOPA consults the OPSG and its insurance stakeholder group on actions concerning regulatory technical standards and their implementation as well as guidelines and recommendations to the extent that these do not concern individual financial institutions.

Members of stakeholder groups can also on their own initiative submit advice to EIOPA on any issue related to its tasks. Additionally, stakeholder groups are expected to notify EIOPA of inconsistent application of EU law as well as inconsistent supervisory practices in the different member states.

The OPSG has recently pronounced on matters such as pension scheme cross-border transfers under IORP II, the gender gap in pensions, and EIOPA proposals for reporting by potential providers of the Pan-European Personal Pension Product.

Gabriel Bernardino, chair of EIOPA, said: “In these challenging and uncertain times it is even more important to have a vital connection to different stakeholders.

“Stakeholder groups provide a valuable contribution to EIOPA’s work. Thanks to their broad geographical representation, and the diverse professional backgrounds, EIOPA can take informed decisions and make sure that interests of European citizens are taken into account.

”I would like to thank the outgoing members for their dedication and contributions while whishing new members a good start.”

The members of the new OPSG took up their appointment yesterday and will serve a four-year term.

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