1. Follow-up White paper pensions: revival 2007 Commission proposal
MISSOC meeting
26 October 2012
Rob Cornelissen

2. Background
Sophisticated legislation protection people moving within EU in field of statutory pensions (now: Reg 883/2004)
Directive 98/49 first EU legal instrument protecting people in field of supplementary pensions
Very modest protection
2005: Commission proposal . Three elements:
Transfer of pension rights (portability)
Timely acquisition of pension rights (avoiding long vesting periods)
Preservation of pension rights (i.e indexed so that inflation does not erode them)

3. Background Difficult negotiations in Council and Parliament
2007: Amended Commission proposal. Covers only acquisition and preservation of pension rights. No transfer of pension rights.
No agreement in Council about question how long an employee must be in pension scheme before pension rights are irrevocably granted.
Proposal put on hold

4. New developments
Green Paper consultations showed widespread support for continuing efforts to reach a solution based on minimum standards of acquisition and preservation
Pension Adequacy report : many reforms adopted to safeguard sustainability (increasing life expectancy- deterioration balance workers/pensioners) will lead to lower statutory pensions in future. Growing role supplementary pensions
Growing awareness that adequate pensions in the future will depend on a mix of working longer and saving more for one's retirement through supplementary pensions

5. Revival of Commission proposal
White paper (February 2012): "In 2012 the Commission will, in close cooperation with Council and Parliament, resume work on a pension portability Directive setting minimum standards for the acquisition and preservation of supplementary pension rights".
Next meetings of Social Questions Group of Council: 5 and 30 November 2012

6. Information about pension rights
Citizens do not only need preservation of pension rights, they also need to have clear overview of their accrued pension rights.
Commission promotes establishment of pension track services across EU similar to those that already exist in some MS. Objective: provide citizens with accurate and up-to-date information about pension entitlements, as well as projections of their income after retirement from statutory and occupational pension schemes
Commission has launched call for proposals to support pilot project on cross-border tracking