The final report from The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) following the quantitative impact study that was conducted into the proposals for updating the Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision (IORP) directive in line with Solvency II left a number of questions unanswered. However, it highlighted the importance that EIOPA attaches to something resembling a holistic balance sheet for Europe's pension schemes.
In describing the way forward, EIOPA said: "It is clear that a methodology like the holistic balance sheet is needed [to allow] for the specificities of occupational pension provision The European Commission has announced that its forthcoming legislative proposal for a revised IORP directive will not cover solvency rules for IORPs and that further technical work in this area is necessary. In the coming months, EIOPA will set out a programme of work to better assess and compare IORP solvency, and to contribute to future decisions on European initiatives regarding the treatment of pension funds that appropriately address the issues of sustainability, adequacy and the security of pensions for present and future generations."
As a first step, a discussion paper has been published on sponsor support asking EIOPA's stakeholders 36 new questions about how best to put a financial value on the support available to IORPs from their sponsors. While this paper already references the work sponsored by the IFoA and presented at sessional meetings earlier in the year, the Pensions Board together with members of the executive staff will be working together to ensure the views of actuaries are fed into EIOPA by the 30 October deadline.