Activities of Danuta JAZŁOWIECKA related to 2010/2239(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Adequate, sustainable and safe European pension systems (debate)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the Green Paper entitled ‘Towards adequate, sustainable and safe European pension systems’
Amendments (31)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph - 1 a (new)
Paragraph - 1 a (new)
-1a. Welcomes the publication of the Green Book towards adequate, sustainable and safe European pension systems; recognises that a wide debate on the future of pension systems in Europe is of vital importance and should take into account current economic and demographic situation, completion of the Single Market, reform of the economic governance as well as recently established European supervisory architecture;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that both the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines and the Stability and Growth Pact refer to age-related public expenditures; recognises that the correct inclusion of pension liabilities is onlyin public debt and deficit of public pension liabilities and assets in mandatory public systems, regardless whether they are managed by public or private entities, is one of many conditions for sustainability; requests that the economic governance reform takes this dimension duly into account;
Amendment 19 #
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 proceduresand the Council to recognise the problem of various Member States with excessive debts and deficits due to statistics used to calculate pension liabilities in their system of public finance; considers that the current reform of the Stability and Growth Pact can be completed successfully only if this fundamental inefficiency- affecting at least 9 Member States- is corrected by e.g. taking into account full costs of pension reforms when initiating decisions linked to the excessive deficit and debt procedure; expresses serious concerns that the current situation acts as a disincentive for introducing necessary reforms and that some Member States have or are considering to scale back their pension reforms in order to reduce government deficit;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Emphasises that sustainable public finances require including the total of public and private debt in the assessment; recalls that pension savings are not only savings earmarked as pension; requests that the full scale of unfunded public sector pension liabilities is made transparent by including these in the government debt-to- GDP ratio;
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Observes that pension reforms are necessary in the context of demographic ageing and the financial and economic crisis, but; notes at the same time that the first objectiensuring adequate retirement income for all is of great importance; underlines, however, that in order to achieve adequate pension levels the system must be safe and sustainable; at the same time, recalls that it is up to the Member States to set up a minimum level of a reform should be to ensure adequate retirement income for allpensions that relates to their standard of living and is affordable for their national public system; recalls that the application of an "one fits all approach" would require thorough studies on the practicability and consequent effects on Member States' pension systems;
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Recognises that there is no perfect pension system that take into account the specificities of all Member States, but is convinced that a balanced multi pillar system of public, work related and private as well as funded and unfunded schemes 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 population;
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Notes that the terminology used to define pension systems in various Member States is not the same (e.g. the classic three-pillar approach is not always valid); therefore calls on the Commission to make the necessary efforts to come up with a typology of pension systems in Member States as well as with a common set of definitions in order to make systems comparable;
Amendment 75 #
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 these; recognises the need to improve the access of people with lower income level to existing pension products;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Considers that long-term investment in pension systems requires a positive approach as part of economic governance and more particularly in the Stability and Growth Pact; considers that the efforts made by countries to introduce pension reforms which resulted in an increase in their debt and deficits should be recognised and not penalised when assessing the stability of public finances in the short and long term;
Amendment 80 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Realises that workers generally do not work until their notional statutory retirement age; stresses that the firstone priority in reaching sustainability is to ensure workers‘ ability to work until that age by implementing adequate employment and social enhancing policies such as discouraging early retirement, introducing financial incentives, securing life long learning and adequate healthcare;
Amendment 85 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Believes that a higher level of employment is the best response to economic growth is a precondition to reach a higher level of employment thus ensureing the financial base of public pension schemes and; notes therefore that the EU should focus on the way to achieve a high level of participation in the labour market and a high employment rate; and sustainable economic growth and a high employment rate; therefore calls on the Commission and Member States to facilitate reforms of labour markets with the aim of factoring in flexicurity principles, modernise social protection systems and create the environment for companies to create jobs;
Amendment 93 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Considers that the increase in retirement age needs to be correlated with life expectancy and working conditions; believes that a clear communication by governments on such policy initiatives is vital and helps citizens to understand the need for reforms as well as which level of retirement income they may expect;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Regrets that the Green Paper does not devote any attention to the gender issue, particularly bearing in mind that, because of disparities very often because of shorter working careers, lower wages and a lower retirement age in some Member States, women have smaller pensions on average;
Amendment 113 #
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 system; therefore calls on the Commission to take the requisite action to accelerate the proper implementation of the Directive;
Amendment 124 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Recalls that the IORP Directive is applicable only to occupational retirement schemes and should not apply to any public pension liabilities;
Amendment 125 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Agrees that a high degree of security for future pensioners, at a reasonable cost for the sponsoring undertakings and in the context of sustainable pension systems, should be the goal;
Amendment 146 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Considers that principles of Solvency II iscould be a valuable starting point forcontribution when developing a solvency regime for IORPs; underlines that such a regime however bearing in mind that risks of the insurance sector are different from those faced by IORPs; notes, that any changes to the solvency regime for IORPs needs to be adapted to the specificities of pensions, in particular as regards the conditionality of pension rights, the duration of pension portfolios and the dedicated purpose vehicle operating a homogenous product portfolio; believes that a potential revision of solvency rules for IORPs should be carried out within the existing IORP Directive; in this regard, calls on the Commission to support the harmonization of tax system of pension fund products; at the same time, recalls that occupational pension systems in Member States vary to an even greater extent that public pension systems;
Amendment 161 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Considers the qualitative elements of Solvency II to be of great importancecould be adopted for their application to IORPs; notes that this applies in particular to requirements in relation to good risk management;
Amendment 167 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Recalls that any proposals for new legislation or changes to current legislation should be subject to a thorough impact assessment process;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Stresses that, within the diversity of pension systems, the general systems (first pillar) combined with work-related systems (second pillar) afforddiversification of pension income from a mix of public, work-related and private, as well as funded and unfunded, schemes offers the best guarantee of adequate pension provision;
Amendment 169 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Is of the opinionRecalls that the newly established European Supervisory Authority (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority) shoulmust make full use of its competences and play an important role in the development of a solvency regime for pension funds in general and IORPs more specificallying legal provisions with regards to IORPs such as a solvency regime;
Amendment 176 #
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 reviewing the 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 192 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
Amendment 201 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Recalls that President Barroso has put pensions as a priority already during his first term; is of the opinion that so far a coherent and comprehensive approach was lackingis needed; welcomes the Green Paper as a first step to such an approach; looks forward to concrete legislative proposals in the near future; recalls that any concrete legislative proposal needs to take due account of the principle of subsidiarity;
Amendment 205 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Calls on the Commission to organise itself with an increased focus on pensions byconsider setting up a special task force chaired by President Barossoon pensions, involving the competences related to pension issues of all relevant DGs, in particular DGs ECFIN, MARKT, EMPL, TAXUD, SANCO and the Services of Eurostat and the ECB.;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Notes that national budgets are under severe pressure and that many Member States are reviewing the efficiency of expenditure; calls on Member States to consider introducing compensation so that all taxpayers who cannot achieve the level of ambition in the first and second pillars are entitled to a supplementary offset of pension contributions in the second pillar or of contributions to private pension schemes in the third pillar; notes that this could also help Member States to establish a three-pillar structuremake sure that short-term public finance pressures do not affect the long-term stability of public finances and pension systems; therefore calls on Member States to ensure the best possible mix of forms of pension provision in the future and improve citizens' access to private saving possibilities;
Amendment 256 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Notes that there are major disparities in the statutory retirement age and in the actual age at which older people cease to be employed; recognises that priority should be given to ensuring that employees can work until the statutory retirement age; calls on Member States and the two sides of industry, therefore, to exchange information about good experiences and to conclude agreements leading to a prolongation of working life, for example by reducing early retirement possibilities and rewarding people who work for longer;
Amendment 363 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Considers that, because of the diversity and complexity of the various second- pillaroccupational pension systems, conditions need to be laid down concerning the portability of acquired pension entitlements in the sense that portability begins when new contracts are concluded, an application for transfer being approved only if the actuarial sum transferred is to be placed in a fund whose purpose is payment of old-age pensions; considers that tax must be calculated and paid in the Member State where the entitlements have been accumulated;
Amendment 380 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Notes that in many Member States the importance of second-pillar pension provision has been recognised, and that it must also be ensured that such provision meets European conditions and criteria applicable to second-pillar provision; at the same time, notes that in cases where Member States have mandatory pension funds managed by private institutions, such schemes should also be reviewed from the point of view of compliance with European conditions and criteria as regards security, investment and asset classification;
Amendment 400 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Calls on the Commission to investigate how employees' right to participate in the second pillar can be facilitated and to make proposals for developpromoting such a pillar where it does not yet exist;