Skip to main content
The Actuary: The magazine of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries - return to the homepage Logo of The Actuary website
  • Search
  • Visit The Actuary Magazine on Facebook
  • Visit The Actuary Magazine on LinkedIn
  • Visit @TheActuaryMag on Twitter
Visit the website of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries Logo of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries

Main navigation

  • News
  • Features
    • General Features
    • Interviews
    • Students
    • Opinion
  • Topics
  • Knowledge
    • Business Skills
    • Careers
    • Events
    • Predictions by The Actuary
    • Whitepapers
    • Moody's - Climate Risk Insurers series
    • Webinars
    • Podcasts
  • Jobs
  • IFoA
    • CEO Comment
    • IFoA News
    • People & Social News
    • President Comment
  • Archive
Quick links:
  • Home
  • The Actuary Issues
  • June 2012
06

Webb hits out against 'Solvency II for pensions'

Open-access content Friday 22nd June 2012 — updated 5.13pm, Wednesday 29th April 2020

There will be ‘no compromise’ on the UK’s opposition to Solvency II capital requirement rules being applied to workplace pensions, pensions minister Steve Webb said yesterday.

2

Mr Webb said it was 'unbelievable' that the European Commission was pushing ahead with its 'pointless proposals' which would cost UK employers with defined-benefit pension schemes hundreds of billions of pounds and also lead to the closure of schemes.

The government has stressed there is no 'one size fits all' model for pensions across Europe, and said it had made this clear in discussions with both the commission and European Parliament.

While the commission is aiming to create level playing field between the insurance and pensions industries, there are 'fundamental differences' between the products offered by the two sectors.

The Department for Work and Pensions also questioned the commission's argument that changes are needed to remove barriers to workers' mobility and the portability of pensions. Only 1.5% of workers live in a different member state from their country of origin and only 4% have moved to another member state, it said.

'We will not let up until we make the commission see sense,' Mr Webb said. 'We expect them to publish a comprehensive impact assessment to clearly expose the catastrophic effect these rules would have on British pension schemes. It is horrifying these plans have got so far without this.'

Mr Webb also criticised delays with the reform plans, which involve revision of the Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision Directive. The commission announced an extension to its timetable for the changes at the start of this month to allow more time for impact studies to be carried out.

DWP believes this prolonged uncertainty is making schemes increasingly unsure about their long-term investment strategies.

Mr Webb urged the UK pensions industry to respond to the consultation launched by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority last week on the impact assessment it will use to inform the final recommendations it makes to the commission on revision the IORP Directive.

He added: 'While Brussels is fiddling, Britain is putting reforms in place to keep our pension system sustainable in the future. We need to work together across Europe to tackle the real pension challenges we all face. 

'And we need to think about how the risks of pension provision are more evenly shared between employer and employee so we can give people more certainty about what pension they will get.'

Earlier this year, Michel Barnier, European Union internal markets commissioner, moved to dispel concerns over the blanket application of Solvency II to pensions, insisting the capital requirement rules would only be applied 'where appropriate'.

This article appeared in our June 2012 issue of The Actuary .
Click here to view this issue

You may also be interested in...

2

EIOPA launches consultation on IORP Directive impact study

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority has launched a consultation on the quantitative impact study that will inform its final recommendations for reform of European pensions legislation.
Friday 15th June 2012
Open-access content
2

Bank of England decides against more QE

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee today decided against a fresh bout of quantitative easing and left UK interest rates unchanged at 0.5%.
Thursday 7th June 2012
Open-access content
ta

US life insurers 'fear prolonged low interest rates'

Almost half of North American life insurance businesses view continuing low US interest rates as the biggest threat to their business, according to a survey published by Towers Watson last week.
Tuesday 26th June 2012
Open-access content
ta

Most companies 'underprepared for risk of volatility'

A majority of bankers, insurers and asset managers are not confident that their company's business model is good enough to cope with unexpected levels of financial or economic volatility, according to a survey published today by SunGard.
Wednesday 27th June 2012
Open-access content
ta

EU gender ruling will not hurt UK life insurers, says Fitch

The European Court of Justice's ruling on gender-neutral insurance premiums is not expected to have a serious impact on UK life insurers because they have the necessary expertise to maintain profitability, Fitch Ratings said today.
Thursday 28th June 2012
Open-access content
ta

Make pension membership compulsory, says OECD

Governments should consider making private pension membership compulsory and linking retirement ages to increasing life expectancy to make national pension systems sustainable, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said yesterday.
Tuesday 12th June 2012
Open-access content

Latest from Global

rdth

Make My Money Matter's Tony Burdon on the practical power of sustainable pensions

Years working in international development showed Tony Burdon, head of Make My Money Matter, that sustainable pensions can harness trillions of pounds to build a better world – at a scale governments and charities can’t. He talks to Travis Elsum
Wednesday 1st March 2023
Open-access content
ULH

Growth of the profession in Zambia

One of only three Fellows in Zambia, Mulenga C Mutati anticipates exciting growth in the country’s actuarial sector
Wednesday 1st February 2023
Open-access content
cj

Natural capital investing

Chris Howells and Andrew Dreaneen discuss how today’s investments in natural capital profit portfolios as well as the planet and humanity
Wednesday 1st February 2023
Open-access content

Latest from Position

TPR publishes coronavirus guidance

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published guidance to help UK pension trustees, employers and administrators deal with the financial and regulatory risks posed by coronavirus.
Monday 23rd March 2020
Open-access content
2

Expert advice

This edition of the magazine focuses on data science and its applications, which will be a recurring theme for the IFoA.
Friday 28th February 2020
Open-access content
2

Tesla sparks fears of insurance market overhaul

That is according to a new report from Moody's, which highlights how Tesla has already started offering premiums that are up to 30% cheaper than those of mainstream insurers.
Friday 14th February 2020
Open-access content

Latest from June 2012

Retirement savings gap 'has widened over past year'

The gender gap for retirement saving has widened over the past year with men saving more of their income and women saving less, according to research published by Halifax today.
Friday 29th June 2012
Open-access content
2

GI confidence slumps as profitability stagnates

General insurers’ confidence fell rapidly in the second quarter of 2012, while profitability in the life insurance sector fell for the first time since December 2009, according to the latest quarterly
Friday 29th June 2012
Open-access content

Global insurance premiums down 0.8% in 2011, says Swiss Re

Global insurance premiums fell by 0.8% last year, as a growth in non-life insurance premiums was more than cancelled out by a fall in life insurance premiums, Swiss Re said yesterday.
Thursday 28th June 2012
Open-access content

Latest from formbuilder_item_removed

2

Implementing IFRS 17 Discount Curves: Theoretical and Practical Challenges

The International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 17 requires liability cash flows to be discounted at rates that reflect the characteristics of the cash flows, including their liquidity
Tuesday 3rd September 2019
Open-access content
2

Profit Emergence Under IFRS 9 and IFRS 17: The impact of choice of liability discount rate

With the IFRS 17 accounting standard, insurers need to understand the patterns of profit emergence that arise under the standard, and how current business and methodology decisions affect such patterns.
Wednesday 10th July 2019
Open-access content
2

Whitepaper: Aggregation and diversification of the IFRS 17 Risk Adjustment

This paper forms part of a series of high-level papers designed to provide an introduction to different features of the risk adjustment that should be considered in advance of implementation.
Tuesday 29th January 2019
Open-access content

Latest from inline_local_link

2

COVID-19 forum for actuaries launched

A forum for actuaries has been launched to help the profession come together and learn how best to respond to the deadly coronavirus sweeping the world.
Wednesday 25th March 2020
Open-access content
2

Travel insurers expect record payouts this year

UK travel insurers expect to pay a record £275m to customers this year as coronavirus grounds flights across the world, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has revealed.
Wednesday 25th March 2020
Open-access content
2

Grim economic forecasts made as countries lockdown

A sharp recession is imminent in the vast majority of developed and emerging economies as the deadly coronavirus forces businesses to shut down across the world.
Tuesday 24th March 2020
Open-access content

Latest from 06

Retirement savings gap 'has widened over past year'

The gender gap for retirement saving has widened over the past year with men saving more of their income and women saving less, according to research published by Halifax today.
Friday 29th June 2012
Open-access content
2

GI confidence slumps as profitability stagnates

General insurers’ confidence fell rapidly in the second quarter of 2012, while profitability in the life insurance sector fell for the first time since December 2009, according to the latest quarterly
Friday 29th June 2012
Open-access content

Global insurance premiums down 0.8% in 2011, says Swiss Re

Global insurance premiums fell by 0.8% last year, as a growth in non-life insurance premiums was more than cancelled out by a fall in life insurance premiums, Swiss Re said yesterday.
Thursday 28th June 2012
Open-access content
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linked in
  • Mail
  • Print

Latest Jobs

Senior Manager - Building new team!

London (Central)
Up to £130k + Bonus
Reference
148845

Shape the Future of Credit Risk Model Development

Flexible / hybrid with 2 days p/w office-based
£ six figure salary with excellent bonus potential + package
Reference
148843

Longevity Director

Flexible / hybrid with 2 days p/w office-based
£ six figure salary with excellent bonus potential + package
Reference
148842
See all jobs »
 
 
 
 

Sign up to our newsletter

News, jobs and updates

Sign up

Subscribe to The Actuary

Receive the print edition straight to your door

Subscribe
Spread-iPad-slantB-june.png

Topics

  • Data Science
  • Investment
  • Risk & ERM
  • Pensions
  • Environment
  • Soft skills
  • General Insurance
  • Regulation Standards
  • Health care
  • Technology
  • Reinsurance
  • Global
  • Life insurance
​
FOLLOW US
The Actuary on LinkedIn
@TheActuaryMag on Twitter
Facebook: The Actuary Magazine
CONTACT US
The Actuary
Tel: (+44) 020 7880 6200
​

IFoA

About IFoA
Become an actuary
IFoA Events
About membership

Information

Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Cookie Policy
Think Green

Get in touch

Contact us
Advertise with us
Subscribe to The Actuary Magazine
Contribute

The Actuary Jobs

Actuarial job search
Pensions jobs
General insurance jobs
Solvency II jobs

© 2023 The Actuary. The Actuary is published on behalf of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries by Redactive Publishing Limited. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part is not allowed without written permission.

Redactive Media Group Ltd, 71-75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ