Activities of Elisabeth MORIN-CHARTIER related to 2010/2239(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Adequate, sustainable and safe European pension systems (debate)
Amendments (24)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas people are entering the labour force at a later age due to unemployment rates that particularly affect poorly qualified young people, or due to longer and higher education, and on average people leave the labour market earlier than the legal pension age, and longevity is increasing,
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the pauperisation concerns more often retired people than workers and more often women than meretired people are at risk of pauperisation, and whereas the elderly women are one of the most vulnerable groups at risk of poverty,
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Considers that the period spent by women or men on taking care of children or other dependent family members should be taken into account and recognised in the calculation systems and taken into account to the period of work as well as all kind of contracof pension entitlements;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Sorely misses any mention ofConsiders that SMEs, which are one of the main sources of employment in the EU and can, must and wish, will continue to make a major contribution to the sustainability and adequacy of pension systems; wishes therefore to see the adoption of measures tailored to employees working in SMEs, particularly on assistance for combining work and retirement;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Considers that long-term investment in pension systems requires a positive approach as part of economic governance and more particularly in the Stability and Growth Pact; calls on the competent bodies in the Member States to promote social inclusion and combat undeclared work in order to improve the balance of pension systems;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Regrets that the Green Paper does not devote any attention to the gender issue, particularly bearing in mind that, because of disparities in careers, women have smaller pensions on average; wants specific attention to therefore be paid to the situation of women and in particular to considering maternity leave as time actually worked providing entitlement to retirement benefits;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Considers that Member States are themselves responsible for making adequate pension provision for their citizens as part of their social and economic policies and that those Member States should be encouraged to put in place a minimum old-age pension for all, putting the emphasis on those who are most vulnerable, especially disabled people;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Considers that Member States are themselves responsible for making adequate pension provision for their citizens as part of their social and economic policies, and to choose the system that seems to them the most appropriate of the models currently available in Europe;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Stresses that, within the diversity of pension systems, the general systems (first pillar) combined with voluntary or compulsory savings- or work-related systems (second and third pillars) afford the best guarantee of adequate pension provision;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Is absolutely convinced that the Member States’ governments have an obligation to use all the means at their disposal to safeguard the long-term funding and sustainability of the main pillar of retirement schemes, namely the first pillar based on the compulsory contribution paid to the State;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12b. Is persuaded that in view of the different features of existing retirement schemes in Europe the first pillar managed by the State and the third pillar based on the supplementary and voluntary aspect (and on savings by individuals) complement each other effectively, represent the main common denominator in the range of diversified systems existing in Europe and thus represent the basis for a ‘European model’ pension scheme, which any Member State is free to supplement with other elements and develop as it sees fit, in accordance with the particular features of its own economic and social environment;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 c (new)
Paragraph 12 c (new)
12c. Takes the view, with regard to the experience of recent decades, that work- related retirement schemes – whether compulsory or voluntary in nature – have not and cannot play more than a secondary role in the vast majority of Member States compared to the first pillar; considers, therefore, that solutions for securing the long-term funding of the first pillar must take absolute priority and that it would be inadvisable at present, before such solutions have been identified, to launch a European debate on promoting work-related retirement schemes in Member States which do not yet have that pillar;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Notes that national budgets are under severe pressure and that many Member States are reviewing the efficiency of expenditure; calls on Member States to consider introducing compensation so that all taxpayers who cannot achieve the level of ambition in the first and second pillars are entitled to a supplementary offset of pension contributions in the second pillar or of contributions to private pension schemes in the third pillar; notes that this could also help Member States to establish a three-pillar structure;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Considers that, in view of demographic trends and the need to ensure that pensions can be paid for, it is necessary for more people to participate in the labour market and to do so for longer; observes that life expectancy is growing and calls on Member States to consider linking the statutory retirement age to life expectancy; however, calls on the Member States which have increased the statutory retirement age or will be doing so to encourage work by older people through fiscal and social security exemptions; also calls on the Member States to create adapted and flexible employment contracts for older people so as to encourage and facilitate combining work with retirement and put in place dissuasive measures so that companies find it harder to make older people redundant;
Amendment 270 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Considers that, for older employees performing physically and/or mentally demanding work during or towards the end of their career, a labour market geared to flexibility and security must offer creative solutions such as greater flexibility in the statutory retirement age, part-time pensions or adapted working conditions, with the emphasis on ability to work, promoting transitional measures and versatility to enable people to transfer from one job to another, with the effective support of lifelong learning programmes, to strike a lasting balance between the requirements of employment and the capacities of workers; considers there to be a need for an active policy to prevent discrimination on grounds of age;
Amendment 300 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Considers that there is a need to reinforce mutual recognition between the Member States of training courses which could improve the match between supply and demand on the job market at European level, thus helping to meet the EU 2020 strategy target of a 75% employment rate;
Amendment 315 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Calls on the Member States to put measures in place to protect workers' health and safety at work as soon as they enter the job market;
Amendment 325 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Stresses the growing importance of labour-market mobility in the EU, as well as the need for such mobility; calls for further improvements to be made with regard to the conditions for carrying out cross-border activities, particularly concerning the harmonisation of tax and social security rules;
Amendment 331 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Considers therefore that there is a need to improve information and advice to members of pension schemes by setting up, where needed, one-stop-shops to give an efficient and precise response to the requests of those who have worked in several Member States;
Amendment 381 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Notes that in many Member States the importance of second-pillar pension provision linked to a profession has been recognised, and that it must also be ensured that such provision meets European conditions and criteria applicable to second-pillar provision;
Amendment 383 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Considers that the second pillar must bein Member States which have set up compulsory pension schemes linked to a profession, it would be advisable to make this second pillar available to all employees by right, without any discrimination on grounds of sex, sector and/or employment contract;
Amendment 395 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
Amendment 420 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. SWith a view to ensuring that pensions are portable, supports the establishment of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA); stresses the need to equip it so that it can perform effectively the tasks entrusted to it;
Amendment 439 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)
Paragraph 32 a (new)
32a. Points out that complementary pension schemes which are capitalised are often considered as difficult to access because they are too technically complex; considers that if employers and employees are to be encouraged to join such schemes, not only must their management be improved, but also their rules must be simplified, and at least better information should be provided, by standardising it on a common basis to make it more intelligible; considers that there should be more rules for capitalisation systems, which should be more tightly regulated on a voluntary basis, ensuring monitoring and transparency, supervision and improvement of the solvency of capitalisation systems; considers that legislative changes could be made, particularly with regard to solvency rules;