Brussels,

Pension Funds​

Occupational pension funds

EU rules govern the activities and supervision of institutions for occupational retirement provision, ensuring sound management and protection for employees' retirement benefits.

What are Occupational Pension Funds?

Occupational pension funds are financial institutions managing collective retirement schemes for employers to provide benefits to employees. They benefit from the principles of free movement of capital and the free provision of services in the EU, allowing:
  • Pension funds in one EU country to manage schemes for companies in another EU country.
  • Pan-EU companies to have a single pension fund for all subsidiaries throughout the EU.

These funds are regulated by the new IORP Directive (Directive (EU) 2016/2341).

​The new rules aim to:
​
  • Ensure occupational pensions are sound and better protect pension scheme members and beneficiaries.
  • Provide better information to members and beneficiaries about their entitlements.
  • Remove obstacles for occupational pension funds operating across borders.
  • Encourage long-term investment in economic activities that enhance growth, environment, and employment.

Personal pension products

​Personal pensions (also known as “private pensions”) are long-term savings products that individuals contribute to on a voluntary basis, complementing state and workplace pensions. They have a role to play in linking long-term savers with long-term investment opportunities.

The pan-European personal pension product (PEPP) is a voluntary personal pension scheme that will complement existing public and occupational pension systems, as well as national private pension schemes.
Pan-European personal pension products (PEPPs) are regulated by the Regulation 2019/1238, also known as the PEPP Regulation.

These rules aim to give savers more choice and provide them with more competitive personal pension products when saving for retirement, while enjoying strong consumer protection. PEPPs could be offered across the EU by a broad range of financial providers such as insurance companies, asset managers, banks, certain investment firms and certain occupational pension funds.

​The PEPP Regulation establishes the legal foundation for a pan-European personal pension market, by ensuring standardisation of the core product features, such as: transparency requirements, investment rules, switching right and type of investment options.

Documents
​