Activities of Dirk STERCKX related to 2010/2239(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Adequate, sustainable and safe European pension systems (debate)
Amendments (18)
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Stresses that in the long term sustainable economic growth is essential for prosperity and pension provision;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Having in mind that a sustainable and well functioning pension system is extremely important to the stability of public finances, calls on the Commission to promote a system which would fairly take into account full costs of pension reforms when initiating decisions linked to the excessive deficit procedures; regrets that certain Member States have reversed the pension reforms which they had implemented in recent years or are considering doing so in order to cut their budget decifits;
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Recognises that there is no perfect pension system, but iIs convinced that a balanced multi -pillar system of public, work -related and private as well as funded and unfunded should be found; is of the opinion that each Member State should define a minimum target income level after retirement so as to avoid raising poverty among ageing populationobserves that responsibility for devising a balanced multi-pillar system rests with the Member States;
Amendment 73 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Observes that even if more pension products exist on the market, not every European citizen has access to theseConsiders that European citizens should be given maximum access to various ways of accumulating pension rights; stresses the importance of providing information on the subject;
Amendment 112 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Observes that the implementation of the IORP Directive by Member States generally has been delayed; understands that Member States have had difficulty in incorporating these new rules and principles in their national systemcalls on the Commission, if necessary, to take action against Member States in order to ensure correct implementation of the IORP Directive;
Amendment 121 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Commission to clarify when a cross-border activity is triggered, also taking into account the provisions of the Posted workers Directive and the position of expatriates in general, and that national social and labour laws, including compulsory membership, applies only to pension schemes; in addition calls on the Commission to further harmonise rules concerning technical provisions, in particular the technical rate of interest, in order to prevent supervisory arbitrage; suggests that Member States should allow ring fencing;
Amendment 131 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Calls on the Commission to perform an impact assessment before revising the IORP Directive and to take account of the trend towards more defined contribution schemes and fewer defined benefit schemes;
Amendment 136 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
MOBILITY AND TRANSFERS 13b. Stresses that free movement of persons is a fundamental right of European citizens; stresses the growing importance of labour-market mobility in the European Union, as well as the need for such mobility; considers that any adverse impact of labour mobility on individual pension entitlements must be kept to a minimum; observes that Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems regulates mobility for the first pillar; notes that no such framework yet exists for the second pillar; observes that various attempts have already been made to fill this lacuna in European law; encourages the Commission to find a solution to this fundamental problem as quickly as possible;
Amendment 137 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 13 c (new)
Paragraph 13 c (new)
13c. Welcomes the fact that some Member States operate pension tracing services which help people keep track of their pension rights from different sources within that Member State; encourages other Member States to develop similar systems; considers that ultimately it would be useful to link such national pension tracing services to one another at EU level in order to promote the mobility of workers;
Amendment 138 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 13 d (new)
Paragraph 13 d (new)
REVIEW OF EU LEGISLATION 13d. Observes that, where powers relating to pensions are vested in the European Union, European law is very fragmented; calls on the Commission to investigate whether it would be appropriate to rationalise this regulatory framework as part of better lawmaking;
Amendment 177 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on the Commission to closely follow the implementation of this Directive, take action against Member States where justified and when possibly reviewing theis Directive to take account of the specific situation concerning the financing obligations of the employer vis- à-vis the employee or its pension fund; is of the opinion that as a principle employee's pension rights provided by employers should be fully funded and separated from that employer;
Amendment 187 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Realises that pension knowledge of employees and private individuals is very limited; is of the opinion that employees and private individuals need to be better informed of any pension right they build up in the various pillars, the conditions to which it is subject, the security and portability of this right and the possible need for further savings to reach a target level;
Amendment 190 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Observes that there is a trend towards more defined contribution schemes and fewer defined benefit schemes; notes that, as a result, pension providers transfer the risk associated with investment to pension savers; stresses that pension savers must be informed in good time of the risk they are running;
Amendment 194 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Notes that more choice is not always better; underlines that the subject matter is of low interest to employees and very complex; is of the opinion that default options should be available, preferably with mandatory membership and that opt- outs should be limitedin many Member States there is a huge amount of choice in the second and third pillars; underlines that the choice is very complex for employees and private individuals; is of the opinion that default options should be available and that adequate information must be available concerning the differences between the default option and the alternatives;
Amendment 207 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Notes that the current terminology referring to the multi-pillar system does not correspond to reality in various Member States; considers that a common terminology in line with reality would substantially improve policy cooperation at European level; calls on the Commission and Member States to cooperate on its adoption;
Amendment 208 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 24 b (new)
Paragraph 24 b (new)
24b. Considers that establishing a European pension platform which covers all pension pillars and is open to all stakeholders could be useful; considers that in order to avoid overlapping in this context, account should be taken of the existing advisory committee on supplementary pensions (the ‘Pensions Forum’);
Amendment 209 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 24 c (new)
Paragraph 24 c (new)
24c. Stresses the importance of the open method of coordination for policy coordination; encourages Member States to step up cooperation with each other and the European level;