Activities of Frédéric DAERDEN related to 2012/2234(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on an Agenda for Adequate, Safe and Sustainable Pensions PDF (353 KB) DOC (250 KB)
Amendments (51)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)
Citation 7 a (new)
- having regard to the report of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and the opinions of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection and the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality: ‘Towards adequate, sustainable and safe European pension systems’ (A7- 0025/2011),
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 a (new)
Citation 8 a (new)
- having regard to the Council Declaration on the European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations (2012): The Way Forward (SOC 992/SAN 322) of 7 December 2012,
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the worst financial and economic crisis in decades has turned into an acute sovereign debt and social crisis that has already severely affected the pension incomes of millions of EU citizens; primarily as a result of the decrease in contributions linked to the rise in unemployment and the political decisions taken by some Member States to drastically reduce public spending on social protection systems, which is likely to exacerbate the situation;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas this crisis has revealed just how interdependent the Member State economies now are and that no Member State alone can guarantee that its social protection system is adequate, safe and sustainable;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the first cohort of the so-called ‘baby boom generation’ has reached pensionable age, causing the demographic challenge to no longer be a future challenge but today’s reality, causingand whereas the number of people aged 60+ is set to increase by more than 2 million per year – double the amount as compared to previous decades;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas being older can be viewed as an opportunity rather than a burden, and whereas the skills older people have to offer, their experience and their contribution to the functioning of society should be recognised and encouraged; whereas older people are an asset to society and it is essential to draw on their knowledge and experience in all areas of life; whereas the market for certain goods and services generated by the phenomenon of an ageing population (the ‘silver economy’) and the related potential for job creation should be promoted;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas rising unemployment has hurtand job insecurity have weakened both pay-as- you-go pension schemes, while funded systems are hit by disappointing financial markets return and supplementary pension schemes in some Member States;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas, moreover, funded pension schemes are increasingly hit by disappointing returns and higher levels of risk on the financial markets;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas retirement systems are a key element of the European social model which ensure a decentn adequate standard of living for people in old agewhich offers people in old age a decent life, in accordance with Article 1 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; whereas their broader political aim is to ensure an adequate overall standard of living, which would have an automatic stabilising effect on the economy by maintaining purchasing power and, therefore, domestic demand;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas studies show that increasing the number of years people are required to work before they can draw a pension does very little to help governments meet the cost of an ageing population;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
Fb. whereas a linear increase in the retirement age or minimum contribution periods would be grossly unfair as it would arbitrarily disregard the strenuous nature of certain occupations;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Deplores the weakening of the EU’s social dimension foreshadowed in the Commission White Paper by, for example, the proposal to link the retirement age to increases in life expectancy;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Emphasises, given the likelihood of a long- term, low-growth economic scenario, which willould require Member States to consolidate their budgets and reform their economies under austere conditions; subscribes, therefore, to the view expressed in the Commission’s White Paper that people will need to build up complementary occupational and if possible private pension saving, the need to safeguard social protection systems;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses that first-pillar pensions must remain the most important source of income for pensioners; calls on Member States to implement reforms to their first-pillar systems aligning contributory years to the changing ratio between pensioners and people in working age, also to prevent public pension costs crowding out other imporcontinue to work on more active and inclusive labour market strategies to decrease the economic dependency ratio between inactive persons and people in employment and maintain a sufficiently large workforce, and to combine these reforms with constant gimprovernment spends in working; calls on the Member States to ensure first-pillar pensions - if necessary complemented by minimum income provisions - to provide a decent minimum incomeonditions and the implementation of lifelong training schemes which enable people to have healthier and longer careers;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Recalls that public pension schemes are the only ones that rely on the principle of inter- and intra-generational solidarity; therefore takes the view that it is public pension schemes that are best placed to maintain the standard of living of pensioners and prevent poverty among older people, and that while they may be supplemented by other schemes they may on no account be replaced by them; calls on the Member States to ensure first- pillar pensions in order to provide an adequate income for a decent standard of living;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Regrets that the Commission’s White Paper does not address the fundamental need to strengthen public pension schemes and diversify their funding sources, e.g. by means of a general social contribution which would ensure that capital income formed part of their funding;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Recalls that incentives to promote individual pension schemes, such as tax reductions, have a negative impact on public finances and social security systems; calls for greater cost reductions, greater transparency, and better supervision and consumer protection than in private savings schemes;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 – introductory part
Paragraph 4 – introductory part
4. Observes that the crisis has revealed in some Member States the vulnerability of both funded and pay-as- you-go pension schemes; recommends multi-pillar pension systems, consisting of at leasta holistic approach to pension reforms, taking account of all the components of pension schemes, namely:
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 – point i
Paragraph 4 – point i
i. a public, first-pillar, decent minimum pensionfirst and foremost an adequate public, first-pillar pension permitting a decent standard of living and guaranteeing a sufficient replacement income;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 – point ii
Paragraph 4 – point ii
ii. a universal funded, employment-related, mandatosupplementary collective second-pillar pension, preferably governed by (sectoral) social partners, preferably resulting from collective agreements and incorporating the fundamental elements of worker solidarity and employer responsibility; this responsibility should not be shouldered by the public authorities;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 – point iii
Paragraph 4 – point iii
iii. an individual third-pillar pension based on private savingd for those who have the means, optional individual third-pillar private savings schemes, which must not, however, under any circumstances be promoted by tax incentives;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
Paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
calls on the Member States to consider introducing such or comparable schemes where they do not yet exist; calls on the Commission to ensure any existing or future regulation in the field of pensions to be conducive to multi-pillarpension schemes which are both financially and socially sustainable, while enhancing policies to improve the welfare of older people over and above pensions, suchemes as tax support for access to residential property or healthcare cover;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Welcomes the recommendation of the European Economic and Social Committee that minimum pension levels should rise with a view to providing pension incomes above the poverty threshold;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recognises the potential importance of pension fundsscheme funding instruments (pension funds and insurance firms) as substantial and reliable long-term investors in the EU economy; emphasises their significance for achieving the Europe 2020 strategy’s headline targets concerning economic growth, more and better jobs and attaining socially inclusive societies, provided they focus their investments responsibly on forward-looking sectors within the Union; takes the view that such investments might focus first of all on developing the specific undertaking which is the subject of the pension schemes; welcomes the forthcoming evaluation, as part of a future Green Paper announced by the Commission on long-term investment, of the impact on such investment of the Union’s rules governing the investments of supplementary pension schemes; urges the Commission not to jeopardise the investment potential of pension funds when introducing or changing EU regulations, especially when reviewing the directive on the activities and supervision of institutions for occupational retirement provision;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Is of the opinion that to arrive at a comprehensive solution to the pension challenge, taking into account the need to work longer, to adapt working conditions and lifelong learning so as to enable people to work longerreduce the economic dependence of social protection systems, to improve working conditions still further and to promote lifelong learning to a greater extent so as to enable people to work longer and reach the statutory retirement age, consensus between governments and social partners is paramount;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Stresses that the main consequence of raising the statutory retirement age will be that the expenditure formerly insured by pension schemes is shifted to other expenditure items in the social protection system, such as unemployment benefits and healthcare;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the main thrust of the White Paper that suggests focusing on: balancing time spent in work and retirement; developing complementary occupational and private pension savings, andensuring the financial stability of pension schemes with the aim of providing adequate pension income to enable older people to have a decent standard of living and thus financial independence, as well as enhancing the EU’s pension monitoring tools;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses that implementing structural reforms aimed at havenabling people work more and longer is the only feasibleto reach the statutory retirement age and reduce the level of financial dependence is the main way tof generateing the tax revenues and social and pension premiums needed to consolidate Member State budgets and to fund adequate, safe and sustainable pension schemes; stresses that these structural reforms must not be sudden and must be carried out transparently, so that contributors are fully informed about the outcome for their pensions; points to the risk of part-time and atypical work leading to only partial pension entitlements; calls on the Member States to put funds aside to combat the rising public costs of the retiring population;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Emphasises the acceleration of the pressure posed by demographic developments on national budgets and pension systems in some Member States now that the first cohorts of the ‘baby boom generation’ retire; notes the uneven progress and levels of ambition across Member States in formulating and implementing structural reforms aimed at raising employment, phasing out early retirement schemes and putting both the statutory and effective retirement age on a sustainable footing with increases in life expectancy and reducing the gap between the statutory and effective retirement age while taking account of the strenuousness and length of some careers; stresses that Member States that fail to implement gradual reforms now may at a later stage find themselves in a scenario where they have to implement reforms shock-wise and with significant social consequences;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Reiterates the call for closely linking pension benefits to years worked and premiums paid (‘actuarial fairness’),at it is possible to ensure that working more and longer pays off for workers by having a better pension; recommends that the Member States, particularly, in consultation with social partners, by allowing individual workers, on a voluntary basis, to continue working after the statutory retirement age, as extending the period of premiums paid while at the same time shortening the period of benefit eligibility can help workers reduce any pension gaps at a fast pacend by taking account of the number of years’ contributions when calculating pension rights and determining entitlement to pensions; also stresses the need to take account of periods not worked, such as parental leave, disability leave or leave to care for a family member, in calculating pensions;
Amendment 212 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
Amendment 222 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the social partners (on the employers’ side) to adopt a life-cycle approach to human resources management and to adapt workplaces; calls on employers to come up with programmes to ensure that employees can work longer, including by making adjustments to the hours worked and the type of work performed by employees reaching the end of their careers; stresses that such adjustments can be coupled with an entitlement to income support provided under social security schemes; calls on workers to engage actively in available training opportunities and to keep themselves fit for the labour market at all stages of their working life, while acknowledging the strenuous nature of some occupations, in which people should be able to work for fewer years without losing pension entitlements;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Draws attention to the gender challenge in the pensions field; stresses the need to ensure greater gender equality at all ages and draws attention to the social impact that a shift from pay-as-you- go to funded systems and from defined benefit to defined contribution schemes would have; emphasises the pressing need to guard against the risk of poverty, in particular among women with little or no entitlement to a personal or a widow’s pension, by introducing a non- contributory income safety net to keep people out of poverty;
Amendment 242 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Welcomes the call in the White Paper for developing funded, complementary occupational pensions and private savings; stresses, however, that the Commission should rather recommend collective mandatory occupational pension savings, as collective (second pillar) pension systems − usually governed by (sectoral) social partners − usually established at the company or sectoral levels that allow for more solidarity within and between generations, whereas individual schemes do not; stresses the need to start building uppromote complementary occupational pension systems now, despite the crisis, taking into account and struggling with the difficulties to access to those systems for some people, and on the need to establish minimum contributions schemes, guaranteeing an adequate complementary pension;
Amendment 263 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Urges the Member States and social partnerthe agencies responsible for pension schemes to inform citizens properly about their accrued pension entitlements, and to raise their awareness and educate them so that they are able to make well-informed decisions as regards future additional pension savings; calls on the Member States to formulate and enforce strict disclosure rules regarding the operating costs and risk and return on investments of pension funds operating within their jurisdiction;
Amendment 267 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. RegretAcknowledges the wide dispersion in characteristics and outcomes across Member States’ occupational pension schemes as regards access, solidarity, cost- effectiveness, risk and return; welcomes the Commission’s intention, in close consultation with the Member States, social partners, the pension industry and other stakeholders, to develop a code of good practice for occupational pension schemes, in particular with a view to looking into the possible ways of tackling the difficulties and pressures that the second-pillar systems in some Member States are facing as a result of the economic and financial crisis;
Amendment 272 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Welcomes the call made in the White Paper for the development of care credits as a means of ensuring that periods spent taking care of dependent persons are taken into account when calculating individual women’s or men’s pension entitlements; points out that some 30% of women of working age in the EU with responsibility for dependant persons remain unable to work, or are able to work only on a part-time basis, owing to a lack of dependant care facilities; points out that an unequal sharing of family responsibilities between women and men and a lack of accessible and affordable services and facilities are having a direct impact on the size of women’s pensions;
Amendment 273 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
17b. Points out that elderly care credit schemes remain few and far between, despite the fact that such care is provided primarily on an informal basis by family members, in particular women; in nine Member States fewer than 10% of elderly dependants are cared for by specialised institutions, and more than 50% of elderly dependants are cared for on an informal basis in 19 Member States1; __________________ 1 See European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), Review of the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in the area F: Women and the Economy, 2011.
Amendment 274 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 c (new)
Paragraph 17 c (new)
17c. Stresses that care for the elderly is an issue that must be addressed, in particular in view of the increasing need for such care resulting from the ageing of the population;
Amendment 275 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 d (new)
Paragraph 17 d (new)
17d. Calls for EU rules to be introduced on care credits, as provided for in some Member States1, in order to ensure that women and men can, as a matter of course and at any time in their lives, devote themselves to taking care of dependent persons without being penalised on retirement, in that their pensions will still offer them a decent standard of living; __________________ 1 See European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), Review of the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in the area F: Women and the Economy, 2011.
Amendment 276 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 e (new)
Paragraph 17 e (new)
17e. Draws attention to the social value of providing care for dependent persons; emphasises the fact that EU rules should allow career breaks to be taken into account for pension purposes so as to reduce the shortfall in pension contributions resulting from career breaks being taken to look after dependent persons, and that care credits should continue to accrue if carers work at the same time and should not end when the carers reach the official retirement age;
Amendment 277 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 f (new)
Paragraph 17 f (new)
17f. Stresses that care credit schemes should encourage, rather than penalise, parallel employment, and that care credits should give rise to pension entitlements in the same way as employment;
Amendment 278 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 g (new)
Paragraph 17 g (new)
17g. Stresses that care credit schemes should make it possible for responsibility for caring for dependent persons to be shared fairly between women and men and that they should not encourage women to take/retain responsibility for providing such care on a full-time basis;
Amendment 279 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 h (new)
Paragraph 17 h (new)
17h. Stresses that all statutory leave arrangements, including maternity, paternity and parental leave, leave for lifelong learning purposes, compassionate leave and leave for palliative care, should give rise to pension entitlements;
Amendment 280 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 i (new)
Paragraph 17 i (new)
17i. Takes the view that EU rules are needed on care credits (for looking after children, older persons and other dependants) that will be taken into account for pension purposes;
Amendment 281 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Supports the Commission’s intention to continue to target EU funding – notably through the European Social Fund (ESF) – to support projects aimed at active and healthy ageing in the workplace, and, through the Community Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity (Progress) and the Programme for Social Change and Innovation (PSCI), to provide financial and practical support to Member States and social partners considering to gradually implement cost-effective supplementary pension schemes;, subject to Parliament oversight; (Progress’s incorporation into the PSCI is currently being considered under the codecision procedure in connection with the proposal for the PSCI’s establishment.)
Amendment 289 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Recognises the significant heterogeneity of pension schemes across the EU yet emphasises the importance for workers changing jobs within or outside their Member State not to have their mobility hampered by concerns about acquiring and preserving occupational pension entitlements; endorses the approach advocated by the Commission to focus on safeguarding the acquisition and preservation of pensions entitlements, aiming at ensuring that dormant pension rights of mobile workers are treated in line with those of active scheme members or those of retirees; is of the opinion that mobility on the labour market ismay be hampered by long vesting periods and calls on Member States to lower those; is aware, nonetheless, that a lack of proper pension portability is one of a number of factors hampering worker mobility, which include family ties and a lack of the necessary language skills;
Amendment 293 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Notes the Commission’s proposal to assess possible linkages between Regulation 883/2004/EC on the coordination of social security systems and ‘certain’ occupational pension schemes; highlights the, which could, in the long run, give the EPSCO Council greater influence in this area than the ECOFIN Council; stresses that, although practical difficulties are being experienced in applying the said regulation to the 27 Member States’ markedly differing social security systems; points to, the regulation remains useful; points out that, despite the complexity of applying a coordination approach to the tens of thousands of very divergent pension schemes operating in the Member States, and therefore questions the that approacticability of applying such an approach in the field of pensionsh also remains useful;
Amendment 295 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to work ambitiously to set up and maintain tracking services that enable citizens to track their employment- and non-employment-related pension entitlements and thereby make timely and well-informed decisions on additional, individual (third-pillar) pension savings; calls for coordination at EU level to ensure adequate compatibility of the national tracking services; welcomes the Commission’s pilot project in this field;