The European Commission has a long term objective to take the Solvency II regulations that apply to insurance companies and apply similar rules to occupational pension schemes. The European Commission has therefore been seeking technical advice from the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA).EIOPA has in turn been seeking views from interested parties through their consultation EIOPA-CP-11/006 of 25 October 2011. The ACT has responded to EIOPA maintaining that the objective is fundamentally flawed in that occupational pensions are provided in a very different manner and have the benefit of sponsor support that is absent in the case of insurance schemes. In attempting to introduce rules to make occupational schemes ‘safer’, the Commission proposals will have the unintended consequence of hastening the closure pension schemes and denying employees the benefits the Commission was trying to protect. For UK companies the cost of funding schemes up to the standards proposed have been put at £600bn. See:
