The European Commission has stepped back from its summer deadline for publishing a new Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision, as more national pension fund associations voice scepticism over its timeframe.
The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority's quantitative impact study published in April calculated UK pension schemes could have a £447.8bn (€527bn) shortfall under suggested tougher solvency requirements.
Suggestions have been growing that the commission might struggle to meet its deadline for proposing a new IORP directive, set out in a letter in October 2012, and the commission is no longer explicitly backing that timeframe.
“We are studying the preliminary results carefully, and will study the final results carefully before making any final decisions on next steps in the context of the future revision of IORP," said an EC spokesperson. "I can’t give you a timing at this stage on [the] revision of IORP.”
The Portuguese Association of Investment Funds, Pension Funds and Asset Management has added its voice to those doubting the commission will have a proposal on the table in time, as well as citing the potential impact of solvency requirements on the nation's funds.
"In the current funding conditions of the Portuguese financial system, the introduction of financial variables that in this moment are not applicable to Portugal, will determine the end of [defined benefit] pension funds," said a spokesperson.
And Paolo Pellegrini, legal adviser to the Italian Association for the Development of Pension Funds, said the country's government and pension schemes were "not very interested in a sudden approval of IORP II".
“We just say: be careful," he added. "We support [lobby group] PensionsEurope in their stand that [the] European Commission has to be careful not to damage pension funds, even when for us it is not a big problem.”
The Dutch pensions association Pensioenfederatie, said in a recent paper that EIOPA's study was "not representative and cannot serve as a basis for a future harmonised prudential framework of the IORP II directive".
Joanne Segars, chair of PensionsEurope and chief executive at the National Association of Pension Funds, said: "[There is] no doubt that Solvency II-type rules would swell pension deficits and take cash away from jobs and investment at a critical time for the European economy. The EC must rethink its timescales for these damaging proposals."
