DC Pensions Roundtable

The second edition of the DC Pensions Roundtable focused on the topical themes of pension adequacy and the sustainability of pension systems. Retirement income adequacy is an important goal to the activity of all stakeholders of the pension sector, from policyholders to industry participants, to academics and most especially to the current and future retirees. And the role of supplementary pensions is increasingly important in achieving these goals. Different countries have chosen different paths to try to develop and encourage the growth of supplementary pensions, and examples from Denmark, the Netherlands, Ireland, France, Belgium and the UK have been presented. The work of the OECD and developing policy plans of the European Commission have also brought valuable insights. 

Aiming to address pension sustainability and adequate retirement income via a multi-pillar pension system proves not to be an easy endeavour, as even those countries which are more advanced on this, still face multiple issues. It has become obvious that there is no singular solution for all, as each country is confronted with its own context and circumstances. It’s important for policymakers to continuously evaluate and monitor their pension systems and their efficacy and one example of a tool that can accomplish this is the pension dashboard that both the European Commission and EIOPA have promoted in recent years. Moreover, continuous socio-demographic and labour market parameters’ shifts, alongside other recent developments such as digitalisation, they keep changing the basic context to which the pension systems need to adapt to.

Reaching retirement income adequacy, addressing the pensions gap and increasing pensions sustainability are goals that can apparently be easier addressed when building scale. Bigger, more resourceful and resilient pension funds can offer more varied and effective solutions and can contribute as well to development of capital markets, which is an important goal to the European Commission for some time.

One central message that came out from the presentations and discussions of the DC Pensions Roundtable is that the design of a good DC pension scheme or product is of outmost importance in the process of addressing the pension gaps. Even though we can see there cannot be, in general terms, any single solution to address all issues from each country, EIOPA will aim to offer through the DC Pensions Toolkit a sort of book of recipes for supplementary DC pensions that will cover a wider set of ‘well-tested ingredients’ and practical tips that policymakers could adapt, combine and adopt in their own national context so as to best address their particular needs. 

Below you can find the presentations of the 8 speakers of the DC Pensions Roundtable. 

Please check the agenda of the event below: