Follow Us

Follow us on Twitter  Follow us on LinkedIn
 

13 October 2011

FN: Why solvency for pensions would be a dreadful mistake


Default: Change to:


This article argues that pension schemes cannot afford to stop worrying about the risk of Brussels imposing on them a solvency regime that would hamper their ability to meet their long-term liabilities.


Many defined benefit pension scheme managers quite rightly feel threatened by regulatory developments. Top of the list of worries for many of them is the possibility that the European Union will impose a solvency regime on pension schemes, restricting their freedom to invest in risky assets, similar to that of Solvency II, a Directive aimed at insurers.

The bureaucrats like the idea of a solvency regime for the best of reasons: they want to protect retirement pools from risk. The pension scheme industry, however, is adamant that restricting their investment freedoms would be a dreadful mistake, causing a drag on returns so great that when they come to making payments to their pension scheme members, they won't have enough money to do so from their own resources.

Full article (FN subscription required)



© Financial News


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



Add new comment