European Union publishes draft pensions directive
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The European Union has published a draft directive intended to improve governance of occupational pensions, reduce the risks for plan members and to promote cross-border pensions, among other things.
The draft Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision II Directive was published March 27; the rules are slated to come into force by Dec. 31, 2016.
The draft directive calls for pension plans to have an effective system of governance that “provides for sound and prudent management of their activities.”
It also would require plans to provide to plan members a standardized annual pension benefit statement about their individual pension entitlements, among other increased reporting requirements.
The directive also is intended to remove some of the obstacles to cross-border pension provisions by, among other things, introducing mechanisms to allow pension fund transfers between E.U. member states.
The directive must be approved by the E.U. Council of Ministers and the European Parliament.
