The review of the EU legislation on workplace pension funds will probably be delayed given that many EU countries were late in fully implementing it, IPE has learned.
The IORP II Directive envisages the European Commission submitting a review of the legislation, to the European Parliament and Council, by January 2023.
A Commission spokesperson told IPE that many member states transposed the Directive with considerable delay, and that Commission services were still assessing its transposition.
“Therefore, we cannot exclude a possible delay of the review process,” the spokesperson added.
Ireland is an example of a country that transposed IORP II late, doing so in April, more than two years after the intended deadline.
“Having a clear picture of how the IORP II Directive was transposed by member states is an important step in the review process,” the Commission spokesperson said.
“We would also need to take into account the conclusions from several other ongoing initiatives in the area of pensions, which may provide useful ideas for the review.”
IPE understands the review will be postponed until 2024, and that EIOPA is due to receive a “call for advice” from the Commission in early 2022.
According to the IORP II Directive, the review of the legislation should in particular consider:
- the adequacy of the directive “from a prudential and governance point of view”;
- cross-border activity;
- “the experience acquired in applying this Directive and its impact on the stability of IORPs”; and
- the pension benefit statement.
As part of its sustainable finance strategy the Commission has indicated that it will consider whether it should become mandatory for pension funds to consider the non-financial impact of investment decisions on environmental and social factors.
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