NAPF ‘disappointed’ over Holistic Balance Sheet consultation
14 October 2014
The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) today commented on the publication by EIOPA of a consultation paper on the Holistic Balance Sheet.
James Walsh, Policy Lead: EU & International, NAPF, said:
“We are disappointed that EIOPA has chosen to press ahead with this project. The European Commission put the plan for solvency-based funding of pension schemes on the backburner last year due to the serious concerns raised by a wide range of employers, trade unions and governments across Europe. It is not clear why EIOPA is still consulting on it.
“Although we would prefer EIOPA to drop this altogether, we are pleased that it has acknowledged the concerns raised in previous consultation rounds. The shift away from a one-size-fits-all system and towards more flexible implementation at national level is an important step in the right direction, but we still think there are more pressing priorities for EU policy-makers to address. We need to extend pension saving to the millions of EU citizens with no access to workplace pensions. We need to strengthen governance and ensure DC schemes are of high-quality. Tackling these challenges would be a positive agenda.
“The Chair of EIOPA, Gabriel Bernardino, will be speaking at the NAPF’s Annual Conference on Friday. We look forward to discussing these proposals with him.”
The NAPF Annual Conference 2014 takes place 15-17 October 2014 at the ACC Liverpool.
EIOPA published its consultation paper on Further Work on Solvency of IORPs on 13 October 2014.
Notes to editors:
The NAPF is the voice of workplace pensions in the UK. We speak for over 1,300 pension schemes that provide pensions for over 17 million people and have more than £900 billion of assets. We also have 400 members from businesses supporting the pensions sector.
We aim to help everyone get more out of their retirement savings. To do this we spread best practice among our members, challenge regulation where it adds more cost than benefit and promote policies that add value for savers.
Contacts:
Lucy Grubb, Head of Media and PR, NAPF, 020 7601 1726 or 07713 073023, [email protected]
Eleanor Bennett, Press Officer, NAPF, 020 7601 1718 or 07825 171 446, [email protected]