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EU Executive Backs Down on Pension Mobility Plan
Reuters
European Union
October 10, 2007
The
European Commission agreed on Tuesday to drop a proposal to make it easier
for people to take their private pension to a new employer.
This
followed the passing of radical amendments to the European Union
executive's pensions plan in June by the European Parliament, which along
with the bloc's 27 member states, has the final say.
The
EU executive said a watered down bill was better than endless haggling.
"The
proposal takes on the majority of the European Parliament's amendments
from last June," the Commission said in a statement.
"It
focuses on the setting of minimum requirements for better access to
pension rights, clearer rights of preservation so mobile workers' pensions
are treated fairly, and improved access to useful and timely
information," the statement added.
The
EU assembly felt that transferring retirement pots to a new employer, the
measure's core aim, would be too expensive.
Some
40 percent of people working in the 27-nation European Union take a new
job every five years or less.
The
EU also wants to boost competitiveness, partly by making labour markets
more flexible so people can move jobs easily within and across borders.
Governments
want to end over-reliance on state pensions, which are not affected by the
measure.
Faced
with opposition from some states in the bloc -- transferring occupational
pensions is banned in Spain and Finland -- EU lawmakers voted to remove
the core right to full transfer of vested pension rights to a new
employer.
EU
Employment Commissioner, Vladimir Spidla, sought to remain upbeat.
"The
urgency of improving workers' rights is why I was ready to accept a
compromise on the issue of the transfer of supplementary rights, as well
as the exclusion from the directive of pension schemes that are already
closed to new members," Spidla said.
"It
is important that we take this significant step now, and not risk further
delay by trying to achieve all our objectives at once," Spidla added.
The
measure will now go back to the EU assembly and states for a final
reading.
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