Brussels, 11/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 15 February, the European Parliament will examine a draft non-legislative resolution by Ria Oomen-Ruijten (EPP, the Netherlands) on ensuring decent, viable and secure retirement pensions in Europe. This is against the backdrop of the current rash of pensions reform in Europe in response to the ageing population and economic slowdown, and it is also against the backdrop of concerns about ensuring pensions systems can continue to provide sufficient income in retirement. The draft resolution was approved by the EP's employment committee on 1 February by 40 to 6 with one abstention.
In a press release, the EP points out that pensions are the responsibility of the member states but the EU does have a role to play. The EU's right of scrutiny covers public deficits, which can be a big issue when long-term pension reforms are introduced. The portability of pensions is also an area of concern as people move around the EU for employment purposes, as is the fact that fewer women than men are in paid employment, and the fact that older workers find it difficult to find new jobs and thereby preserve a decent pension entitlement.
The draft resolution urges the Commission and the member states to continue their work on reducing inequality between men and women by calculating maternity leave and care for elderly relatives as the equivalent of time at work when calculating pension rights for men and women; and to force occupational pension funds to use the same mortality rates when calculating annuities for men and women rather than the current practice of penalising women because they tend to live longer than men.
The draft resolution calls more specifically on the member states to: 1) ensure “first pillar” pensions are higher than the poverty line, improving access to private pensions savings and ensuring that pensions systems are stable, reliable and sustainable and any changes are only made after suitable dialogue with employers and trade unions, and on the basis of sufficient levels of information; 2) introduce suitably flexible work contracts and pension systems for older workers in order that they can accumulate the right to a decent pension, including all their different jobs over the years, and introducing disincentives to make it more difficult for employers to lay off the elderly; and (2) to eliminate obstacles to worker mobility by ensuring the portability of pensions within the EU and within nation states. The resolution asks the Commission: 1) to monitor implementation of the insolvency directive closely and take measures needed against member states where necessary, and to ensure that in any future changes to the directive the specific situation of employers' duties to fund their pension scheme is taken into account; 2) to set up a European network of EU institutions, social partners and relevant stakeholders to share best practice and help prepare EU policy within respect for subsidiarity; and 3) to set up a special cross-DG working group on pensions at the Commission. (G.B./transl.fl)