Follow Us

Follow us on Twitter  Follow us on LinkedIn
 

25 April 2012

IPE: UK minister criticises 'horrifying' lack of IORP impact assessment


Default: Change to:


The UK pensions minister has criticised as "horrifying" the fact that European Commission proposals for a revised IORP Directive have yet to undergo an impact assessment, and warned that plans for Solvency II-based regulation would undermine the country's plans for 'defined ambition' schemes.


Steve Webb said: "It is horrifying to think Solvency II could get so far without even a sniff of an impact assessment". He welcomed comments made by van Hulle in front of a Work and Pensions select committee earlier this week that implied the European Commission would "consult on the scope" of any impact assessment going forward and urged them to listen to its eventual outcome.

Webb also welcomed the "suggestion" by van Hulle that any Solvency II regulations would only apply to future accrual.  "It's a better than a kick in the teeth, but only just", he said.

The minister further warned that imposing solvency on pensions risked undermining his plans for a new third way pension schemes – previously referred to as 'defined aspiration', with Webb now preferring the moniker 'defined ambition'. "If I want employers both moving from DB into a risk-sharing world – particularly moving from pure DC into risk-sharing models to take on a bit of pension promise or pension guarantee – the last thing I want to see is a higher cost of doing that", he said.

Full article (IPE subscription required)



© IPE International Publishers Ltd.


< Next Previous >
Key
 Hover over the blue highlighted text to view the acronym meaning
Hover over these icons for more information



Add new comment