News

The OECD has published Pensions at a Glance 2015. The paper highlights the pension reforms undertaken by OECD and G20 countries over the last two years. It provides an in depth review of the first layer of protection of the elderly, first-tier pension schemes across countries and assesses the impact of short or interrupted careers, due to late entry into employment, childcare or unemployment, on pension entitlements. The paper also analyses the sensitivity of long-term pension replacement rates to parametric changes.

On the 6th of October, the Pensions Authority published a synopsis of the main points made in submissions it received in response to its consultation paper on draft codes of governance for defined contribution schemes.

The Central Bank of Ireland has published a feedback statement on Consultation Paper 92 Domestic Actuarial Regime and related Governance Requirements under Solvency II.

The consultation period closed on 29 May 2015.

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has issued the second set of its Solvency II Guidelines in the official languages of the European Union.

The Guidelines cover different areas from all the three Solvency II pillars (quantitative requirements; governance requirements; reporting and disclosure).

In 2013, the Pensions Authority commenced the DC consultation process that set out the Authority’s views on the future of DC provision and sought responses to specific questions including minimum standards for trustee knowledge, understanding and behaviour.

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has published a Good Practices Report on transferability of supplementary pension rights. With this Report, EIOPA identifies the main impediments to cross-border and national transfers as well as a number of good practices to overcome these. This would create more transparency in the interest of consumers and facilitate the internal market for supplementary pension rights.

EIOPA outlines three key areas which – if addressed – could significantly facilitate the transferability of supplementary pension rights:

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has published a Note entitled “Need for high quality public disclosure: Solvency II’s report on solvency and financial condition and the potential role of external audit”. The purpose of this Note is to stress the importance of high quality public information and the relevant use of external audit services in relation to Solvency II public disclosures.

The Demography Committee has prepared a report and recommendations following a review of the mortality assumptions used in converting a retirement fund into an annuity as prescribed in the following Actuarial Standards of Practice:

EIOPA has published the second set of draft Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) and Guidelines for Solvency II. The set covers different areas from all three Solvency II pillars (quantitative basis; qualitative requirements; reporting and disclosure).  The ITS and Guidelines were finalised following the public consultation earlier this year, during which EIOPA received over 4500 comments.

With this publication EIOPA takes a further step towards ensuring the timely implementation of Solvency II.

The DC consultation process conducted by the Pensions Authority in late 2013 set out the Authority’s views on the future of DC provision and sought responses to specific questions raised. In relation to pension scheme governance the Authority indicated that it would publish a code of governance that would provide trustees with a central reference point for the key areas of a DC scheme.