April 2021
26Apr

Multi-pillar pension systems can help EU address the ageing of European societies

Multi-pillar pension systems can help EU address the ageing of European societies Insurance Europe has today published its response to a consultation conducted by the European Commission on its green paper on ageing. Insurance Europe's contribution focuses specifically on the questions pertaining to pensions and long-term care, given the extensive expertise that insurers have in these areas. On pensions, the industry welcomes the Commission's efforts to boost adequacy in retirement income across Europe, as demographic changes are increasingly putting statutory pension...

April 26, 2021
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15Apr

US Corporate Pension Funding Nudges Higher in FY 2020

Robust returns of 13.4% for the 100 largest corporate pension plans in the US offset a 67-basis-point drop in the discount rate to raise the plans’ funded ratio to 88.4% last year from 87.5% at the end of 2019, according to consulting firm Milliman’s “2021 Corporate Pension Funding Study.” The funded levels rebounded strongly during the second half of the year after the bottoming out at 81% in July. “Corporate pensions demonstrated their resilience in 2020 amidst a turbulent year of...

April 15, 2021
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14Apr

EU insurance regulator cracks down on unit-linked policy costs

Insurers face stricter rules on selling products linked to the performance of stock or bond markets, in a bid to cut high costs for consumers, the European Union’s insurance regulator said on Tuesday. Insurers in the bloc collected premiums worth up to 340 billion euros ($404.33 billion) in 2019 from life insurance and pension premiums linked to the value of a stock, bond or property funds that cause the rates of return for investors to fluctuate. The EU’s European Insurance and...

April 14, 2021
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March 2021
23Mar

ESG Disclosure Rules From Europe Challenge U.S. Fund Managers

Scores of U.S. fund managers are being forced to comply with sweeping new European rules on climate and other sustainable-finance issues, requiring them to disclose the potential harm their investments could do to the environment and society. Fund companies including Vanguard Group, BlackRock Inc. and State Street Corp. that sell investment products in the European Union come under the new rules that took effect this month, though details are still being finalized. “There are many issues to be resolved, it is...

March 23, 2021
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February 2021
18Feb

“In Spain We Have The Funds With The Worst Profitability And They Are The Most Expensive”. Antonio Banda from Feelcapital

By The Corner Antonio Banda, CEO of Feelcapital, has already warned of the risk posed by the transposition into Spanish law of the Brussels rule that will allow the entry of pan-European funds. The rule, which comes into force next March, is “the great danger for Spanish fund managers”. Q: Following the modification of the taxation in pension plans, you commented that the real danger for national fund managers was the arrival of pan-European funds, why? A: The regulation on European Pension...

February 18, 2021
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16Feb

​EC’s sustainable governance play: Asset owners wary of potential snags

The idea of drawing up EU rules to ensure companies embed sustainability into the way they operate has met with steady applause from pensions and asset management industry representatives – as well as warnings of potential unintended consequences. Read also Spain Counts on Citizens to Buy Into Revolution for Pensions Questions put out by the European Commission in its consultation on an initiative on sustainable corporate governance – which closed in early February – centred around topics such as directors’ duty...

February 16, 2021
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04Feb

Greece’s number of retirees at poverty risk surprises

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, released new data today that measures how many pensioners are at risk of poverty, and their findings on Greece may very well surprise you. The statistical office said “In 2019, the proportion of pensioners aged over 65 at risk of poverty in the EU stood at 15.1%, slightly above the figure of 14.5% in 2018 as well as above the risk of poverty of working age population (16 to 64 years)...

February 4, 2021
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December 2020

22Dec

ESMA advises fresh postponement of pension fund central clearing duty

The EU financial markets watchdog has recommended the European Commission extend until June 2022 the current exemption for pension funds from the obligation to use central clearing for derivatives. Its stance follows a public consultation to collect more data as well as views from a wide range of stakeholders about issues surrounding potential central clearing solutions for pension schemes. ESMA said it was convinced of the benefits of a broad adoption of the clearing obligation for pension funds, but...

December 22, 2020
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04Dec

EIOPA launches discussion paper on a methodology for integrating climate change in the standard formula

Today, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) published a discussion paper on a methodology for the potential inclusion of climate change in the Solvency II standard formula when calculating natural catastrophe underwriting risk. This discussion paper is a follow-up to EIOPA’s Opinion on Sustainability within Solvency II issued in September last year, which concluded that there is a need to consider if and how climate change-related perils could be better captured in the Solvency II framework...

December 4, 2020
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November 2020

10Nov

Risk Dashboard: European insurers slightly less exposed to risks compared to the beginning of COVID-19 outbreak but concerns remain

Today the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) published its updated Risk Dashboard based on the second quarter of 2020 Solvency II data. The results show that the risk exposures of the European Union insurance sector slightly reduced, compared to July risk assessment. Insurers are particularly exposed to very high levels of macro risk, while market, credit, profitability and solvency risks decreased to medium level. However, the risk assessment does not account for the outbreak of the second...

November 10, 2020
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