On Friday 7 March, PensionsEurope published its response to the European Commission’s call for contributions on the ‘Savings and Investments Union’ (SIU) (see EUROPE 13571/21), underlining the importance of pension funds in strengthening the European Union’s capital markets and economic competitiveness.
The representative of 25 pension fund organisations across Europe welcomes the Commission’s initiatives such as reforming the tax framework on withholding taxes, supported by the ‘FASTER’ Directive (see EUROPE 13563/18), and the consultation on securitisation (see EUROPE 13501/27), believing that these could strengthen the role of pension funds as institutional investors.
PensionsEurope is calling for policies to encourage people to join funded pension schemes, including auto-enrolment, and for attractive tax incentives to encourage long-term savings.
However, the organisation warns against any obligation to invest in strategic sectors to the detriment of pension funds’ fiduciary duty.
Lastly, it supports the proposals for simplification and calls for greater transparency in pension systems, particularly through the introduction of pension tracking dashboards.
See the position paper: https://aeur.eu/f/fw9 (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)