Actuaries across Europe feel more work needs to be done by the pensions industry to design the best method for savers to access their retirement entitlement.
The Actuarial Association of Europe (AAE), which represents actuarial institutes across the EU, revealed the ideal decumulation system - how an individual assesses their retirement income - should provide choice for consumers with regards to the types of products available, such as lump sum or defined benefit annuities.
Institutes also felt there should be "different solutions for different needs" to address individual circumstances, and these should be supported by an "adequate regulations framework", good advice to help consumers plan for their retirement, and tax incentives "to encourage and reward individuals for saving for retirement".
The Survey of Decumulation Regimes, which canvassed 16 institutes including the IFoA in the UK, also looked at current arrangements within each EU member state and at issues that were not met under the current arrangements. These included: insufficient funds accumulated due to lack of consumer understanding, lack of products to address "extreme or special life circumstances", and a shortage of information and advice on decumulation issues and risks to be considered by consumers.
Michael Renz, chairperson of the AAE, said: "The AAE is ready to work with the European Commission, the European Parliament and other stakeholders to assist in further developing the necessary conditions for an adequate European decumulation landscape."
Meanwhile, the AAE has also published a Report on key issues for setting up national pension tracking services in six EU-countries to give an overview of the available pension tracking services in Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Pension tracking is designed to give citizens an overview of their personal pension data.
According to the AAE, a cross-border tracking service could "contribute to a better harmonisation in the benefit statements that are available and supplied in the various member states".
The issues mentioned in the report included pension systems in different countries, digitisation and input from government-related institutions.
Falco Valkenburg, chairperson of the pensions committee at the AAE, said: "We believe that pension tracking services could play a key role in improving the information and understanding about pensions for all European citizens."
This was the second report published by the AAE, with the first report published for Denmark, Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands.
