EU figures show high cost of its plans for new rules on defined benefit pensions – Pensions Minister
The UK Government urged the EU to drop its plans to impose Solvency II style rules on defined benefit (DB) pension schemes.
The UK Government today urged the EU to drop its plans to impose Solvency II style rules on defined benefit (DB) pension schemes, following initial findings in the EU’s own assessment of the impact the changes would have on the UK.
The preliminary results of a quantitative impact study by EIOPA (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority) shows its plans could cost £450 billion in terms of additional funding requirements on UK DB pension schemes.
Steve Webb Minister for Pensions said:
The EU’s latest figures show the extremely high cost its plans would place on UK defined benefit pension schemes. In fact, its estimate of a baseline £450 billion cost is in line with the worst case scenario contained in figures the Pensions Regulator produced for the UK Government last year.
This confirms that any such new rules would harm businesses’ ability to invest, grow and create jobs, and many more schemes could be forced to close. I continue to urge the Commission to abandon these reckless plans.
Notes to Editors:
- EIOPA’s preliminary impact assessment can be downloaded here: https://eiopa.europa.eu/fileadmin/tx_dam/files/consultations/QIS/OPC/qis1/Outcome/EIOPA-BoS-13-021_QIS_on_IORPs_Preliminary_Results_for\EC_-_20130409.pdf
- The report on the estimated impact of the EU proposals commissioned by the DWP, and carried out for the UK Government by The Pensions Regulator, is available on the DWP website: http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?
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