Activities of Thomas HÄNDEL related to 2010/2239(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Adequate, sustainable and safe European pension systems (debate)
Amendments (37)
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Emphasises that demographic change is a prognosis relying on statistical probability and that, as the recent crisis has shown, it is not possible to establish enough criteria to predict future developments;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Emphasises that life expectancy is contingent on multiple factors, that working conditions and safety at work are decisive, and that, therefore, special account needs to be taken of forms of employment involving a high degree of psychic and physical stress;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Considers that, while birth rates are expected to decline, economic productivity is steadily increasing and is likely to offset future costs for pension schemes;
Amendment 39 #
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 objective of a reform should be to ensure adequate retirement income for all;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 e (new)
Paragraph 1 e (new)
1e. Emphasises that, not only in times of economic crisis, private pension funds and occupational pensions are subject to market developments and, as a result, face the risk of losses owing to market fluctuations and possible insolvencies; notes, further, that there is no evidence that better regulation can eliminate these risks;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 f (new)
Paragraph 1 f (new)
1f. Points out that more and more atypical working arrangements and increasing levels of temporary employment are leading to extremely low wages, a state of affairs which simply excludes many employees from third-pillar pension schemes and makes them vulnerable to old-age poverty;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 g (new)
Paragraph 1 g (new)
1g. Points out that occupational pension schemes are almost exclusively offered in large enterprises and that employees in SMEs are mostly excluded from any such arrangement;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 h (new)
Paragraph 1 h (new)
1h. Points out that occupational pensions can often not be transferred to other enterprises and to other Member States;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 i (new)
Paragraph 1 i (new)
1i. Points out that the unemployed are excluded from occupational pension schemes and cannot afford to invest in private pension funds, making them extremely vulnerable to old-age poverty;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 j (new)
Paragraph 1 j (new)
1j. Points out that a shift from pay-as- you-go pension systems to contribution- based systems implies a shift of risk from the community to individual workers; notes that pay-as-you-go pension systems are safeguarded by the principle of 'solidarity between generations' and hence safer than private pension schemes;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 k (new)
Paragraph 1 k (new)
1k. Notes that the impact of the economic crisis (increase in large-scale unemployment, dismissals of older employees and increasing prevalence of precarious working conditions) has undermined the sustainability of pension systems;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 l (new)
Paragraph 1 l (new)
1l. Emphasises that, as part of the exchange of best practices under the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) in the employment sphere macro-economic differences between the Member States should be duly taken into account when dealing with micro-economic measures;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 m (new)
Paragraph 1 m (new)
1m. Explicitly rejects the assumption that national budget constraints caused by the economic crisis justify the cutting of pension entitlements; emphasises that only increased revenue can offset losses to state budgets generated by the collapse of the capital markets;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 n (new)
Paragraph 1 n (new)
1n. Emphasises that pension schemes should not only prevent old-age poverty, but generally guarantee the preservation of a decent standard of living;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 o (new)
Paragraph 1 o (new)
1o. Calls on the Council to agree an EU target for minimum wages (statutory, collective agreements at national, regional or sectoral level) which provide for remuneration amounting to at least 60% of the relevant (national, sectoral, etc.) average wage in order to enable more employees to secure individual pension entitlements above the poverty threshold;
Amendment 59 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Believes that the EU has a strong role to play in developing a definition of an adequate decent retirement benefit, in the form of a set of goods and services that older people need to enjoy for a decn independent life;
Amendment 67 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Recognises that there is no perfect pension system, but is 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 of 60% of their respective national median equalised income so as to avoid raising poverty among ageing populationthe elderly;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Points out that decent pension schemes should be a cornerstone of EU policy, as they can play a decisive role in achieving social progress and implementing the social market economy;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Emphasises that decent, safe pension schemes which prevent poverty are vital elements in the fight against social exclusion and discrimination and in the promotion of social justice and social protection, gender equality, and solidarity between generations;
Amendment 89 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
Amendment 96 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Stresses that if the EU is to reach agreement on a set of rules or a code of conduct, the way to guarantee providers’ security will be through the general exclusion of high-risk products such as leverage products, hedge funds, private equity, naked short sales and credit default swaps not based on real transactions;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Invites the Council to agree on a guarantee for minimum pensions above the Union’s at-risk-of poverty threshold of 60% of national median equalised income, in order to prevent old-age poverty and to save elderly people from falling into means-tested minimum income schemes;
Amendment 150 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Ponts out that the shift from defined- benefit to defined-contribution systems fostered by the IAS/IFRS accounting standards, and in particular by IAS 19, runs counter to the aim of sustainable, reliable retirement pension provision; these accounting standards must therefore not be applied when calculating the solvency capital of IORPs and the scope of the Solvency II rules must not be extended to cover IORPs;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10b. Deplores the fact that the Green Paper does not take into account the challenges of social exclusion and social inequality;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 c (new)
Paragraph 10 c (new)
10c. Deplores the fact that the Green Paper does not offer specific solutions for vulnerable groups, such as women, the long-term unemployed, young people, people with precarious employment contracts, migrants, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, or people who take on responsibilities as carers;
Amendment 185 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Calls for consideration to be given to the scope for employing the proven German system of the Pension Guaranty Association, to which pension funds are also required to make contributions, in other Member States and, possibly, to taking over some of its criteria as the basis for European rules; the Association is an organisation set up by the employers themselves in order to improve safeguards against the insolvency of occupational retirement pension schemes;
Amendment 199 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Takes the view that workers should be provided with information about the costs, fees and risks linked to the conclusion of contracts for additional pension provision;
Amendment 215 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Recommends the deletion of Article 5 (2) of Directive 2004/113/EC in order to rule out gender-related discrimination in access to pension schemes, and to promote gender-neutral payments;
Amendment 220 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15b. Recommends the abandonment of lengthy contribution periods and minimum retirement ages in order to allow for the creation of decent pension entitlements for employees working part time, and for young employees from the first day of their working lives;
Amendment 243 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Rejects the automatic linkage of the statutory retirement age to life expectancy;
Amendment 262 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Calls on the Member States to use the EU Year of Active Ageing, 2012, to engage in cooperation with the social partners and, with the support of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, to develop recommendations concerning the creation of high-quality jobs and the reduction of physical and mental stress for employees, thus enabling them to work until existing statutory retirement ages and making it unnecessary to raise those ages further;
Amendment 264 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
17b. Calls on the Member States to provide employers with information and to offer them advice with the aim of reducing prejudices concerning the employment of older persons (for example advice concerning health training, ergonomic changes to working routines, and working conditions that safeguard older employees' health and their ability to work);
Amendment 291 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Calls on the EU to make the adequacy and sustainability of pension schemes a part of the 2020 strategy so as to ensure that the employment and growth strategy supports the EU's efforts to achieve its social cohesion goals;
Amendment 361 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Considers that, because of the diversity and complexity of the various second-pillar 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 accumulatstresses that, first and foremost, the question of equal treatment in terms of the taxation of pension entitlements must be clarified;
Amendment 435 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Is concerned about the inadequate information provided to the public by public authorities and bodies administering pensions concerning the necessity, possibilities, accumulated entitlements, likely results and actual state of affairs with regard to old-age pensions; calls on the Commission and Member States to launch campaigns to enable and encourage members of the publiccitizens to take measures to ensure adequate pension provision for themselves; stresses that citizens have to be provided with information regarding actual costs and charges when concluding additional pension scheme contracts;
Amendment 459 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)
Paragraph 35 a (new)
35a. Recommends that the EU should develop a system of reporting for Member State national data that should also comprise medium-term and long-term developments and progress in the safeguarding of poverty-preventing, sustainable and adequate pension schemes; new indicators should give a differentiated picture of the social situation of people receiving old-age pensions and of the years before they retired (i.e. employees with a migrant background, employees from small enterprises, etc.);
Amendment 463 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 b (new)
Paragraph 35 b (new)
35b. Stresses that, should consideration be given to enacting an EU regulation governing occupational and/or private pension scheme, pension schemes should not be allowed to make high-risk investments, such as in leveraged products, private equity, naked short selling, and credit default swaps (CDS), that are not based on real business transactions;