Activities of Olle LUDVIGSSON related to 2012/2234(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on an Agenda for Adequate, Safe and Sustainable Pensions
Amendments (33)
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Considers that regulation of adequate, sustainable retirement income is the sole responsibility of the Member States in question and that the Commission should limit its activities to compiling and disseminating information on the pensions situation and the pension reform efforts across the EU and, where appropriate, encourage the Member States to look critically at their systems and engage in exchanges of experience;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Underlines that a key pensions-related issue within the Europe 2020 strategy should be to make it feasible for many more employees, in particular in the most strenuous occupations, to work until the standard retirement age by strengthening public policy in the fields of occupational health, workplace environment and vocational retraining;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the exchange of experiences concerning pension documentationand identification of good practices concerning individual pension statements, which might be relevant to the 1st, 2nd or 3rd pillars.;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Notes that, when systems for pension statements are fully developed, people should ideally have access to full information about all individual entitlements within all three pillars in one place, such as a coordinated web portal;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Underlines that the aim of the review of the IORP Directive should be to keep occupational pensions across Europe adequate, sustainable and safe by creating an environment that stimulates further national and internal market progress in this field, by providing enhanced protection to current and future pensioners and by adapting in a flexible way to the considerable cross-border and cross-sector diversity of existing schemes;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. RejectsStresses that any further regulatory harmonisation of quantitative or qualitative precautionary measures at EU level must be built on a solid impact analysis, on an active dialogue with social partners and other stakeholders and on a genuine understanding of and respect for national specificities;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Considers that Commission proposals regarding quantitative and qualitative precautionary measures are only of value if they lay stress onmust takinge into account the differences between thenational systems and comply strictly with the principle of proportionality in terms of weighing aims and benefits against the financial, administrative and technical burden involved;
Amendment 60 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Considers with regard to qualitative precautionary measures that proposals concerning strengthened corporate governance and risk management and those regarding enhanced transparency and information disclosure obligations are useful and should be put forward in the framework of the IORP review;
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Is strongly opposed to Europe-wide harmonised requirements concerning own capital or evaluation; rejects any review of the Pension Funds Directive (the IORP Directive) which aims to achieve thisnot convinced, given the information available at this point in time, that Europe-wide harmonised requirements concerning own capital or balance-sheet valuation would be appropriate; believes, however, that the Quantitative Impact Study (QIS) currently being carried out by EIOPA, as well as possible follow-up analyses to that study, should be fully taken on board before drawing any definitive conclusions in this regard;
Amendment 72 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Stresses that the application of quantitative Solvency II requirements poses a great risk to pillar 2 systems, since these may, as a result of increased costs, be forced in future to accept lower company pensions or to stop them altogether; emphasises that this is not inEmphasizes that there are crucial differences between insurance products and occupational pension schemes; stresses that any direct application of quantitative Solvency II requirements to pillar 2 systems would be inappropriate and could potentially be harmful to the interests of both employees and employers; therefore concludes that there must be no provisions at EU level aimany initiative aimed at developing EU level solvency rules ing to apply Solvency II to 2nd pillar systhe area of occupational pensions must fully respect the reality and specific characteristics of pension schemes;
Amendment 80 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Considers the further development of variations to Sat the EU level of solvency IImodels, such as the Holistic Balance Sheet Model (HBS), to be useful only if specific national requirements are comptheir application, on the basis of solied with and if they are presented as recommendations; categorically rejects these as components of EU-level regulationimpact analysis, proves to be realistic in practical terms and effective in terms of costs and benefits, particularly given the diversity of IORPs within and across Member States;
Amendment 87 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Rejects theUnderlines that the idea of establishment ofing equal competition between life insurance and 2nd pillar systems, as the latter are not financial servi is valid and relevant only to a certain extent, given the crucial differences between insurance providerducts and can therefore not be compared with life insurance provideroccupational pension schemes;
Amendment 91 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Believes that, in the event of insolvency, entitlements under Article 8 of Directive 2008/94/EC must be safeguardedconsistently safeguarded in all Member States;
Amendment 92 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Believes it would make sense for the Commission to have anCalls on the Commission to carry out a comprehensive overview of national guarantee schemes and measures and to propose reliable procedure, if inadequacies are identified in that assessment, propose enhanced EU legislation in order to make certain that fully reliable mechanisms for simple, cost- effective and proportionate procedurestection of occupational pension rights are put in place all across the EU;
Amendment 94 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Underlines that issues regarding pension protection in case of insolvency are closely related to key aspects of the IORP review; stresses that the Commission, in developing these two directives, should ensure that they are made congruent and fully compatible;
Amendment 95 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Welcomes the development of a guidecode of good practice in the field of occupational pension schemes, which aims to give an overview of reliable procedures and proposals regarding guarantee schemes and measures; calls on the Commission to properly coordinate this work with the IORP review and initiatives in the framework of Article 8 of Directive 2008/94/EC;
Amendment 96 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Emphasizes that the gender aspect also needs to be specifically addressed in this context, given the problematic fact that women presently have more limited opportunities than men to accumulate adequate occupational retirement savings;
Amendment 97 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 19 b (new)
Paragraph 19 b (new)
19b. Welcomes the Commission's intention to promote the development of pension tracking services in all Member States; underlines – given the current trend of employees changing jobs more frequently than in the past – that such services will become more and more important for people to get a proper overview of total entitlements and to make rational decisions on pensions-related matters;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Underlines that reform efforts in the field of pensions should give high priority to anti-poverty aspects; stresses that if bold action is not taken in this regard, the Europe 2020 goal on poverty and social exclusion will probably not be reached;
Amendment 98 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 19 c (new)
Paragraph 19 c (new)
19c. Notes that, when fully developed, pension tracking services should ideally cover not only occupational pensions, but also 3rd pillar schemes and individualised information on 1st pillar entitlements;
Amendment 102 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Welcomes the discussion of – and the Commission's intention of starting a pilot project on – the establishment of cross- border pension tracking services for the 2nd pillar;
Amendment 105 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Notes that cross-border mobility is not only a fundamental right of EU citizens, but also a crucial factor in making the internal market and the European economy work as efficiently as possible; stresses that a key aim of EU activities in the field of pensions should be to remove the remaining obstacles to such mobility;
Amendment 107 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Stresses therefore that the development of cross-border pension tracking services are only worthwhile if they are extremely efficient, legally and administratively small-scale and highly cost-effective– which would make it much easier for citizens working in different Member States during a career to keep track of and to claim all their accumulated pension entitlements – should be promoted as a matter of priority;
Amendment 113 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Stresses that maintaining appropriate provision in the 1st pillar, with its spiritprinciples of solidarity and adequate protection for all, should be the number one priority in the Member States and that the 3rd pillar can play a supplementary role as the demographic pressure decreases; rejects the reduction of the 1st pillar and a corresponding increase in the 3rd pillar;
Amendment 120 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30a. Emphasizes that the key priority of public policy should not be to subsidise 3rd pillar schemes, but to make certain that everyone is adequately protected within a well-functioning and sustainable 1st pillar;
Amendment 126 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. RejecSupports the notion of voluntary codes of conductelaboration and establishment of EU level voluntary codes of conduct – and possibly also product certification schemes – with regard to quality, information provision to consumers and consumer protection in the 3rd pillar and urges the Member States to assume regulatory tasks in these areas;
Amendment 127 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 33 a (new)
Paragraph 33 a (new)
33a. Calls on the Commission to look into ways to make better use of EU financial sector legislation when it comes to ensuring that consumers are given accurate and un-biased financial advice on pension and pensions-related products;
Amendment 128 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
34. Calls on the Commission and the Member States concerned to reach agreement on how to avoid double taxation and double non-taxation in the field of cross-border pensions;
Amendment 129 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 35
Paragraph 35
35. Regards discriminatory taxes as a major barrier to cross-border mobility and calls for their swift withdrawal;
Amendment 134 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 38 a (new)
Paragraph 38 a (new)
38a. Calls on the Member States, inter alia on the basis of the 2012 Pension Adequacy Report, to intensify their work on preventing old-age poverty; underlines that if bold action is not taken on strengthening pensions systems in this regard, the Europe 2020 goal on poverty and social exclusion will probably not be reached;
Amendment 135 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 38 b (new)
Paragraph 38 b (new)
38b. Stresses that a key to building more sustainable and adequate pension systems is to focus on eradicating inequalities between women and men; emphasizes that enhanced measures have to be taken in all Member States in this regard, for example when it comes to promoting equal pay, fighting gender-based discrimination, granting pension credits to caring for children and the elderly, reducing the incidence of involuntary part-time work as well as improving work and pension conditions in precarious jobs;
Amendment 227 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Calls on the Member States, in close consultation with the social partners, to promote longer working-lives by strengthening public policy in the fields of occupational health and safety, workplace environment and vocational retraining; stresses that a core policy target in this regard should be to make it possible for employees, in particular in the most strenuous occupations, to work until the statutory retirement age;
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12b. Stresses that gender equality in the labour market is crucial to ensuring the sustainability of pension systems on the basis of higher employment rates, adequate individual contributions and economic growth;