Resaver to receive first payments in March [amended]

From March the first member organisations will transfer contributions to the Resaver cross-border pension plan.

The first institution to make contributions will be one of the founding members: the Central European University, based in Hungary.

Resaver confirmed the pension plan for academic researchers has also achieved “local regulatory approval to operate [in] Hungary and Italy”.

The cross-border plan was set up as a Belgian OFP (Organisme de Financement de Pensions) last year and received the approval from the Belgian supervisory authority FSMA a few weeks ago.

In addition, the pension fund has been awarded a €400,000 grant by the EU to cover initial and running costs “in the first year of its operations”. The EU has also earmarked more money to support the pension scheme in its Horizon2020 budget.

“We expect that this generous support will be an open invitation to employers of researchers – public and private research institutions and universities, SMEs, and research and technical development companies – to join the pension fund in its initial phase,” said Gabriella Kemeny, chair of Resaver Consortium and Pension Funds.

The consortium behind the Resaver pension fund has already been joined by over 20 organisations representing various institutions, with some expected to start contributions later this year.

The pension fund is advised by Aon Hewitt, BlackRock won the initial investment mandate, and Previnet is handling the administration including a multi-language user portal.

Paul Jankowitsch, Resaver membership and promotion chair, told IPE he was convinced the pension plan would “improve the financial perspective for researchers and foster mobility within the European Economic Area”. 

This story previously stated that Italy’s Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste and Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia would be among the first contributors. They have not yet confirmed contributions to Resaver.