28 Amendments of Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN related to 2014/0091(COD)
Amendment 271 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) The internal market should allow institutions to operate in other Member States and ensure a high level of protection for members and beneficiaries of occupational retirement schemes. while fully respecting the Union gender equality acquis and the principle of non- discrimination, taking into account the special needs of, among others, women and also taking into account the gender pension gap.
Amendment 281 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 3 a (new)
Recital 3 a (new)
(3a) Occupational retirement pensions are, in view of the demographic development in Europe and the situation regarding national budgets, an almost indispensable element of adequate, safe and sustainable retirement provision.
Amendment 286 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) Action is needed to further developlthough responsibility for ensuring the adequate income of, and services for, elderly citizens lies with the public sector, action is continually needed in Member States to further develop existing occupational pension systems (second pillar) and, as a complementary measure, private retirement savings (third pillar) such as occupational pensions, in order to facilitate the possibility of a pensioner being able to acquire additional services tailored to that pensioner's personal needs. This is important since social- security systems are coming under increasing pressure, which means that citizens will increasingly rely on occupational retirement pensions as a complement in the future. Occupational retirement pensions should be developed, without, however, calling into question the importance of social-security pension systems in terms of secure, durable and effective social protection, which should guarantee a decent standard of living in old age and should therefore be at the centre of the objective of strengthening the European social model; it should be noted, however, that pre-existing inequalities in the labour market, like the gender pay gap, are mirrored in cumulated disadvantages in first and second pillar pensions, resulting in lower pensions and a risk of poverty in old age.
Amendment 293 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4 a (new)
Recital 4 a (new)
(4a) Action is needed to secure equal access to decent pension schemes for women, correcting the imbalances created by persistent inequalities between men and women in the labour market.
Amendment 295 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) This Directive respects the fundamental rights and observes the principles recognised by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, notably, the right to protection of personal data, the right to equality and non-discrimination on any ground such as sex, sexual orientation and social origin, including household composition, the right to conduct a business and the right to a high level of consumer protection, in particular by ensuring a higher level of transparency of retirement provisioning, informed personal financial and retirement planning that takes account of the financial literacy of each individual member of an occupational retirement scheme as well as facilitating cross-border business of institutions for occupational retirement provision and businesses. This Directive must be implemented in accordance with these rights and principles.
Amendment 304 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) Despite the entry into force of Directive 2003/41/EC important prudential barriers remain which make it more expensive for institutions to operate pension schemes across borders. Moreover, the current minimum level of protection for members and beneficiaries needs to be increased and must be determined taking into account the Union principles of non- discrimination and gender equality. This is all the more important as the number of Europeans relying on schemes that shift longevity and market risks from the institution or the undertaking offering the occupational scheme (‘"sponsoring undertaking’") to the individual has increased significantly. In addition, the current minimum level of information provision to members and beneficiaries needs to be increased and such schemes risk increasing the occurrence of old-age poverty within Member States, in particular women. In addition, the current minimum level of information provision to members and beneficiaries must be increased and adapted to ensure greater ease of access to information and to the needs of individual members, in particular women. Those developments warrant an amendment of the Directive.
Amendment 317 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 9 a (new)
Recital 9 a (new)
(9a) Given the importance of ensuring adequate pension levels and closing the gender pension gap, the Commission should study extensively the impact of different pillars, pensions systems and their structures on both women and men. Based on the results, the Commission should propose actions and possible structural changes that are needed in order to ensure equal levels of pensions for women and men across the Member States.
Amendment 318 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 9 b (new)
Recital 9 b (new)
(9b) Taking into account that the gender pension gap in the Union is 39 % on average, the Commission should not just rely on prudential rules but should also encourage Member States to develop top- up schemes, with monitory mechanisms to control their effects, to contribute to the second pillar pension as a way to close the gender pension gap and to guarantee women's access to a decent pension.
Amendment 325 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) When aiming at ensuring financial security in retirement, the benefits paid by institutions for occupational retirement provision should generally provide for the payment of a lifelong pension. Payments for a temporary period or a lump sum should also be possible. In addition, the Commission should find simple and user- friendly ways to render the quality of second and third pillar retirement products intelligible to women and men and develop standards of consumer information and consumer protection by means of voluntary codes of conduct and possibly by means of a compact, user- friendly Union certification system (pensions mark) for such products.
Amendment 326 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) It is important to ensure that farmers, mothers raising children and older and disabled people are not placed at risk of poverty and can enjoy a decent standard of living, taking into account the particularly precarious situation of elderly women. Appropriate cover for biometrical risks in occupational pension arrangements is an important aspect of the fight against poverty and insecurity among elderly people. When setting up a pension scheme, employers and employees, or their respective representatives, should consider the possibility of the pension scheme including provisions for the coverage of the longevity risk and occupational disability risks as well as provision for surviving dependant, periods of absence from employment for the purpose of raising children, as well as provision for surviving dependants, so as to allow elderly people to move to retirement homes if they can no longer live by themselves.
Amendment 329 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) In order to protect members and beneficiaries, institutions for occupational retirement provision should limit their activities to the activities, and those arising therefrom, referred to in this Directive and provide clear and relevant information to members and beneficiaries for the purpose of ensuring good governance and risk management.
Amendment 339 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 20
Recital 20
(20) Institutions for occupational retirement provision are financial service providerspension institutions that serve, first and foremost, a social purpose and which bear a heavy responsibility for the provision of occupational retirement benefits and therefore should meet certain minimum prudential standards with respect to their activities and conditions of operation. The social function of institutions for occupational retirement provision and the triangular relationship between the employee, the employer and the institutions for occupational retirement provision should be fully recognised and supported as a guiding principle of this Directive and occupational pension schemes based on collective agreements that take into account a gender perspective should be encouraged as they would play a significant role in the promotion of gender equality and in the reduction of pension inequalities between women and men.
Amendment 386 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 36
Recital 36
(36) Some risks cannot be reduced through quantitative requirements reflected in the technical provisions and funding requirements but can only be properly addressed through governance requirements. Ensuring an effective system of governance is therefore essential for the adequate management of risk and to guarantee equal protection rights to all scheme members. Those systems should be proportionate to the nature, scale and complexity of the activities.
Amendment 396 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 39
Recital 39
(39) All persons that perform key functions should be fit and proper and be of a certain level of integrity, including demonstrating gender sensitivity. However, only the key function holders should be subject to notification requirements to the competent authority.
Amendment 402 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 41
Recital 41
(41) It is essential that institutions improve their risk management so that potential vulnerabilities in relation to the sustainability of the pension scheme can be properly understood and discussed with the customers and competent authorities. Institutions should, as part of their risk management system, produce a risk evaluation for their activities relating to pensions. That risk evaluation should also be made available to the customers and competent authorities. In that evaluation institutions should provide among others a qualitative description of key elements determining their funding position in accordance with national law, the effectiveness of their risk-management system and the ability to comply with the requirements regarding technical provisions, including the ability to differentiate among technical provisions for men and women. This risk evaluation should include new or emerging risks, such as risks related to climate change, resource use, or the environment.
Amendment 409 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 46
Recital 46
(46) Institutions should provide clear and adequate information to prospective members, members and beneficiaries to support their decision-making about their retirement and ensure a high level of transparency throughout the various phases of a scheme comprising pre-enrolment, membership (including pre-retirement), periods out of work or periods where fewer hours were worked, and post- retirement. In particular, information concerning accrued pension entitlements, or projected levels of retirement benefits, in comparison with other members and beneficiaries of the scheme, risks and guarantees, and costs should be given. Where members bear an investment risk, additional information on the investment profile, any available options and past performance are also crucial. and predicted performance, risk profile and cost structure should be obligatory and provided in a clearly understandable form taking into account the different levels of financial literacy of the members of the scheme. Clear and adequate information should not merely aim at the maximum amount of information but should also ensure that the information is adapted to the needs of the user, in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, especially as regards accessibility and access to information, and taking into account the financial literacy of each individual. Consumer information and consumer protection could be briefly summarised and rendered intelligible by means of voluntary codes of conduct and possibly by means of a compact, user-friendly Union certification system (pensions mark).
Amendment 416 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 47
Recital 47
(47) Before joining a scheme, prospective members should be given all the necessary information to make an informed choice such as possibilities to opt out, consequences of career gaps or part-time contracts, contributions, costs and investment options, where applicable.
Amendment 417 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 47 a (new)
Recital 47 a (new)
(47a) In some Member States a shift has happened in private pensions from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC), leading to coverage gap between men and women.
Amendment 422 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 49
Recital 49
(49) Institutions should inform members sufficiently in advance before retirement about their pay-out options. Where the retirement benefit is not paid out as a lifetime annuity, members that approach retirement should receive clear, tailored and gender-disaggregated information about the benefit payment products available, in order to facilitate financial planning for retirement.
Amendment 456 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 11 – paragraph 2
Article 11 – paragraph 2
2. In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity and taking due account of the scale of pension benefits offered by the social-security regimes, Member States may provide that a national minimum pension which cannot fall below the risk- of-poverty threshold be introduced, that the option of longevity and disability cover, provision for surviving dependants and a guarantee of repayment of contributions as additional benefits be offered to members if employers and employees, or their respective representatives, so agree.
Amendment 551 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 23 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 23 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. Member States shall require institutions to ensure that their management is gender-balanced and that all persons who effectively run the institution or have other key functions fulfil the following requirements when carrying out their tasks:
Amendment 556 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 23 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 23 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) they are of good repute and integrity, including demonstrating gender sensitivity (requirement to be proper).
Amendment 565 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 24 – paragraph 2
Article 24 – paragraph 2
2. Institutions shall regularly disclose publicly relevant information regarding the remuneration policy using specific indicators to link remuneration to fit and proper management, integrity and gender equality unless otherwise provided in the laws, regulations and administrative provisions transposing Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council.41 __________________ 41Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31).
Amendment 570 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 24 – paragraph 3 – point a – indent 8
Article 24 – paragraph 3 – point a – indent 8
– there shall be clear, transparent, gender sensitive and effective governance with regard to remuneration and its oversight.
Amendment 572 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 25 – paragraph 1
Article 25 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall require institutions to incorporate a risk-management function, an internal and external audit function, and, where applicable, an actuarial function. The reporting lines associated with each key function shall ensure the key function’s ability to undertake its duties effectively in an objective, fair, gender equal and independent manner.
Amendment 594 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 28 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 28 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) assess the sufficiency and, quality and gender sensitivity of the data used in the calculation of technical provisions;
Amendment 600 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 29 – paragraph 2 – point c
Article 29 – paragraph 2 – point c
(c) the ability to comply with the requirements regarding technical provisions laid down in Article 14 without generating indirect discrimination against women;
Amendment 632 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 38 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point a
Article 38 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point a
(a) it shall be regularly updated and adapted to the needs of individual members, in order to take account of differences in comprehension related to gender and age;