Revision of Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision (IORP) Directive must not lead to higher costs and shrinking occupational pensions. Ceemet, ECEG and industriAll Europe publish a joint statement on the planned initiative on IORP within the context of the White Paper on “an agenda for adequate, safe and sustainable pensions”. All three believe that it is unnecessary to change the regulation.

• All social partners share the Commission ?s view that occupational pensions schemes will be of increasing importance to secure adequate old-age provisions in all Member States.
• Ceemet, ECEG and industriAll Europe also agree on the necessity to secure pension claims against the risks of financial markets. However, the plans of the European Commission do not take into account that the occupational pension schemes concerned are not exposed to those risks and furthermore usually secured through national security instruments.
• The envisaged revision of the IORP Directive could even have a negative effect on occupational pensions and thus contradict the explicit goal spelled out in the White Paper to strengthen the second pillar, occupational pension, of the pension system.
• Therefore, Ceemet, ECEG and industriAll Europe oppose applying a Solvency II-like own-funds requirement to occupational pension provision institutions, as proposed in the White Paper on “an agenda for adequate, safe and sustainable pensions”. Those plans would considerably increase the costs of occupational pension provision schemes provided by companies/sectors and threaten to reduce pension claims.