EIOPA: Introducing a standardised Pan-European Personal Pension Product
07 September 2015
EIOPA held its third Public Event on Personal Pensions where guests provide EIOPA their insights that will help EIOPA to prepare its final advice to the European Commission on the introduction of a standardised Pan-European Personal Pension product (PEPP).
The objectives of the Public Event of 7 September were, on the one hand, to provide stakeholders and other parties with an opportunity to give EIOPA the input needed to finalise its advice on the introduction of the PEPP. On the other hand, it also helped clarify the PEPP features to arrive at a common understanding of the proposal before finalising the written feedback to the consultation paper. The event also provided a great platform to exchange views on personal pension-related topics across potential providers and also with the supervisory community.
EIOPA's Chair - Gabriel Bernardino - opened the event stating that although introducing the PEPP is an ambitious goal it is absolutely worth pursuing and feasible. Citizens need to save more for retirement, which could be fostered and facilitated by simple, standardised, cost-effective and, most of all, trustworthy 3rd pillar retirement savings products. The PEPP aims to be that product. In order for it to offer value for money costs must be low. An efficient internal market helps to reach economies of scales and cost savings .
Nathalie Berger from the European Commission underlined the importance of expanding the internal EU market for personal pension products and how the PEPP could play its part in complementing an effective Capital Markets Union. Long-term investment goals, she argued, could be matched by long-term saving for retirement to support economic growth and to lead to better returns for pension savers and investors alike. Before deciding on taking legislative action to introduce the proposed PEPP the Commission will assess if the product is indeed likely to generate more pensions savings and if the PEPP will be able to overcome the currently perceived obstacles to offering cross-border personal pension products. This is where the EU can help and where EIOPA's advice is needed. Introducing a single EU market for PEPPs is ambitious, but not impossible.
Ambrogio Rinaldi, Chair of EIOPA's Task Force on Personal Pensions, to set the scene, provided an overview of the envisaged PEPP product characteristics and the accompanying supervisory and consumer protection measures that need to be taken in order to ensure that the PEPP will indeed be a trustworthy product that offers value for money in the future.
Two consecutive panel sessions then focused on specific topics described in EIOPA's Discussion Paper, with the first panel debating PEPP issues from a provider's point of view and the second one from a consumer perspective.
All panellists - during the first panel session - agreed that fostering and facilitating appropriate private pensions savings is much needed. During the second panel session all panellists emphasised the importance of providers offering fair and clear information to consumers.
Evolving ways to distribute financial services products could also contribute to keep the costs low and foster simple products. Community Life's Claudia Lang shared her practical experience on innovative, internet-based distribution solutions for offering financial products to consumers. If desired by the consumer, adequate advice can also be given via this channel.
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