The first "Public Event on Personal Pensions" was held on 11 June 2013 in Frankfurt.
The event was an initiative by EIOPA’s Task Force on Personal Pensions, as well as an opportunity to actively involve stakeholders in its work, as stated in the Mandate of the Task Force.
The objective of the public event was to discuss with speakers and participants the current obstacles for a Single Market in the field of personal pensions and possibilities to lower them.
It attracted around in total 40 consumer representatives, academics consultants, national supervisors, experts from the EU, internal institutions and the financial services industry.
In his opening speech Gabriel Bernardino, Chairman of EIOPA, stressed the importance of “a well-designed and structured 3rd pillar market” in the field of personal pensions. He also spoke about EIOPA’s aim to advise on an EU-wide legislative framework. Introducing the topic, he stressed the specificity of personal pension schemes, on their aim “to provide their holders with the means to live after retirement”.
Consumer protection, a core interest to the Authority and the Task Force, was addressed in a morning session, just after the rationale of Call for Advice had been explained by the European Commission.
During a panel discussion on cross-border issues participants discussed the current obstacles to the creation of a single market in the field of personal pensions.
Another panel on the impact of the EU regulatory framework on statutory funded pension schemes rounded the programme with an input from speakers from the old and new EU Member States and international organisations.
