May 2025
23May

European semester thematic factsheet adequacy and sustainability of pensions

Pensions are the main source of income for older people in Europe, coming mostly from 'pay-as-you-go' public schemes. Retired people drawing a pension are a significant and — due to demographic ageing — a growing part of the EU population (about 124 million, or a quarter of the total population1). European pension systems are facing the dual challenge of remaining financially sustainable and being able to provide Europeans with an adequate income in retirement. The key purpose of pension...

May 23, 2025
Adequacy, Books, Books, System Sustainability, , , ,
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April 2025
25Apr

The future of pensions and retail investment in the EU

By Maximilian Bierbaum & Sheenam Singhal In the debate on the future of capital markets in Europe, widening retirement saving and widening retail investment are the potential missing link. But there is a danger that by dealing with the two topics in isolation, EU policymakers will miss the bigger picture. We think this needs to change. Neither pensions nor more retail investment can solve this problem on their own. To really move the dial, we need both – and there...

April 25, 2025
Books, Books, Investment, Reports, , ,
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25Apr

Digital Transformation of Public Pensions a Case Study of Four European Countries

By Alina Mihaela This paper delves into the pension systems of four European nations – Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Romania – offering a comprehensive analysis of their respective structures, digitalization efforts and potential for harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) for public benefit. It paints a vivid portrait of the various approaches to pension systems and digitalization strategies in these four European countries. It illuminates the potential of AI and technology to drive progress in the public sector, ultimately improving citizen well-being...

April 25, 2025
Articles, Pension design, , , ,
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25Apr

Varying effects of public pensions: Pension spending and old-age employment under different pension regimes

By Kun Lee Socioeconomic consequences of pension reforms have often been discussed without careful consideration of institutional contexts, despite the fact that institutional designs of public pensions differ substantially across countries. This study argues that the outcomes of pension reforms vary depending on the institutional structure of public pensions, by showing that the associations between public pension spending and old-age employment rates of different socio-demographic groups vary across different institutional contexts. Using time-series cross-section data from 20 European countries and...

April 25, 2025
Articles, Labor Market, , , , ,
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08Apr

EIOPA launches liquidity stress test of European pension funds

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has launched its fifth stress test of European occupational pension funds, assessing the impact of two adverse economic scenarios on the liquidity position of IORPs and the overall sector. The two scenarios simulate sharp increases and declines in interest rates, respectively. “In the ‘yield curve up’ scenario, EU interest rates increase sharply as market participants anticipate economic developments related to the abrupt escalation of geopolitical tensions,” said EIOPA. “These geopolitical tensions cause disruptions in...

April 8, 2025
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04Apr

Conversion in the Act on Future Pensions, sailing to safe harbour?

By Hans van Meerten & Adrienn Pásztor This article explores the transformation of rights and entitlements during the transition to a new Dutch pension system within the second pillar for occupational pension schemes. It provides an examination of various national legal challenges such as the contractual basis and retrospective nature of this conversion process, alongside relevant aspects of European law including property rights and effective legal protection under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Charter of Fundamental...

April 4, 2025
Articles, System Characterization, , ,
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February 2025
24Feb

Could Retirement Finance Reform Reboot the European Economy?

The European Union is grappling with two interlinked crises that threaten its long-term economic stability: a severe shortfall in risk capital and an impending pension crisis exacerbated by demographic aging. Recent reports by Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta have sounded the alarm on the EU’s moribund growth prospects, highlighting a critical lack of investment liquidity for innovation and infrastructure. At the same time, Europe’s dominant pay-as-you-go pension systems are in an actuarial death spiral as the working-age population shrinks...

February 24, 2025
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14Feb

Place-Based Policies of the European Union: Contrasts and Similarities to the US Experience

By Peter R. Berkowitz, Michael Storper & Max Herbertson The European place-based policy framework was established in the European Treaties and has a current budget of $60-70 billion per year. This paper identifies key features and directions for its future development with respect to three place-based problems: traditionally lagging regions; contemporary distressed (or left-behind regions), including those facing the structural challenges of the energy transition; the challenge of spreading prosperity faced with the uneven geography of technological clusters and routine technology-based manufacturing. We...

February 14, 2025
Articles, Regulation, , ,
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January 2025
10Jan

2024 Ageing Report: Economic & Budgetary Projections for the EU Member States (2022-2070)

By European Commission This report was prepared as part of the mandate the Economic and Financial Affairs Council gave to the Economic Policy Committee (EPC) in 2021 to update and further deepen its triannual projections of age-related expenditure based on new population projections by Eurostat. The work to fulfil this mandate is performed within the EPC’s Ageing Working Group (AWG). The 2024 Ageing Report provides long-term projections for public expenditure on pensions, healthcare, long-term care and education in the European...

January 10, 2025
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October 2024
08Oct

Regulators increase scrutiny on funded reinsurance amid pension de-risking surge

The growing use of innovative “funded” or “asset-intensive” reinsurance structures by life insurance companies has attracted regulatory attention, particularly in light of the expanding pension de-risking market. These transactions, which involve transferring corporate pension scheme liabilities to life insurers, have led to an increase in reinsurance activity where both investment and longevity risks are passed to reinsurers. In its latest report, Hogan Lovells notes that while regulators recognize the strategic role of reinsurance in managing risk and capital, the rising volume of...

October 8, 2024
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