News

On 27th March, the European Commission published the IORP II Directive - a legislative proposal for new rules on occupational pension funds (IORPs). The general objective of this proposal is to facilitate the development of occupational retirement savings.

The proposal aims at improving governance and transparency of these funds in Europe, promoting cross-border activity, and helping long-term investment.

The proposal has four specific objectives:

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) invites market participants and (re)insurance stakeholders to provide their feedback on the first set of draft Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) for Solvency II.

With this EIOPA enters the final regulatory phase of Solvency II, during which it will present its draft ITS and Guidelines to the public until the regulation becomes applicable on 1 January 2016.

The Actuarial Association of Europe issued the following press release today:

At the request of the European Commission, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has issued a Report on the prudential regulations and consumer protection measures needed to create a single market for personal pensions.

EIOPA’s analysis has revealed that taxation, social law and difficulties in the area of harmonisation of contract law appear to be the most significant hurdles.

EIOPA has identified two main options for creating the single market for personal pensions.

The Pensions Board has published a synopsis of the main points made in submissions it received in response to its consultation paper on the future structure and regulation of defined contribution (DC) pensions.  The Board received 44 written submissions in total of which 6 were from individuals and 38 were from organisations/schemes.

The Society of Actuaries in Ireland is recommending to Government that a mandatory pension system should be developed over the next 5 years for all workers as the best way of increasing private pensions coverage and improving the adequacy of pensions for individuals in Ireland. 

The Society’s position paper is available here.

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has set up the timeline for the delivery of the Solvency II Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) and Guidelines.

The overall goal of the project is to deliver the regulatory and supervisory framework for the technical implementation of the Solvency II regime from the first day of application, 1 January 2016. It is of high importance to ensure a timely and proportionate application of Solvency II. 

The Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton, has announced a package of legislative measures to address the situation where an underfunded DB pension scheme winds up or elects to restructure.  The legislation is due to be published and enacted in the coming weeks.

EU Council, represented by the Lithuanian Presidency, and the European Parliament have on November 13 in Brussels achieved a provisional political agreement on Omnibus II directive.

 Agreement on Omnibus II enables Solvency II framework finally to become operational. Solvency II is a long-expected major overhaul of the EU insurance regulatory framework and is very important for the insurance industry, supervisors and policyholders in the EU.

The Central Bank of Ireland has published ‘Guidelines on Preparing for Solvency II’.
These guidelines reflect the EIOPA Guidelines published on 31st October 2013. The principal aim of the guidelines is to aid insurance companies in taking active steps towards implementing certain key elements of Solvency II in a consistent way.

The Central Bank guidelines cover the following areas of Solvency II:

The Society of Actuaries in Ireland has responded to a Pensions Board consultation on the future of defined contribution (DC) pensions. 
 
In the response, the Society calls on the Pensions Board to develop and articulate an over-arching vision for the future of DC pensions, rather than tackle individual issues on a piecemeal basis.  The Society also offers views on simplification of the regulatory framework, alternatives to the trustee model, investment matters, and engaging pension scheme members through effective communications.    

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) published today the final Guidelines for the preparation of Solvency II. The Guidelines were finalized following the public consultation earlier this year, during which EIOPA received over 4000 comments.