Good News for European Consumers: The European Parliament Backs the Trilogue Agreement on the PEPP

BRUSSELS, Belgium, April 4 -- The European Fund and Asset Management Association issued the following news release:

EFAMA welcomes the European Parliament's plenary approval of the trilogue agreement on the "Pan-European Personal Pension Product" (PEPP) Regulation.

This is a key milestone in the future of the European single market in the area of personal pensions. The PEPP represents a significant step forward to enable EU citizens to access high quality retirement savings plans, complementary to existing public and occupational pensions.

The PEPP Regulation ensures strong consumer protection, full transparency of costs and ESG policy, mandatory advice, and right of switching. It also gives product intervention powers to the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) and national competent authorities (NCAs).

EFAMA is convinced of the PEPP's potential to incentivise European citizens to save for retirement, thereby also channeling more savings towards long-term investments in the EU.

EFAMA looks forward to constructively engaging with the European Commission and EIOPA on the accompanying Level 2 measures. These will need to be well-designed to ensure that the PEPP is attractive to both savers and providers. The tax treatment applicable to the PEPP will also be a crucial element for its promotion and success. Member States should grant the same tax relief to the PEPP as the most favourable one granted to national pension products.

Tanguy van de Werve, EFAMA Director General, commented: "Today is an important landmark for everyone. EFAMA and the asset management industry have been strong supporters of the PEPP from day one. Today the path has been paved for the development of personal pension products with a European label. The PEPP will soon become a reality for European consumers: it will promote competition, widen consumers' choice and encourage individuals to save more for retirement, which is one the biggest societal challenges the EU will be facing in the coming years and decades."

About the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA):

EFAMA is the representative association for the European investment management industry, which represents 28 member associations and 62 corporate members. At end 2018, total net assets of European investment funds reached EUR 15.2 trillion. Close to 33,400 of these funds were UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities) and close to 28,600 of these funds were AIFs (Alternative Investment Funds). For more information about EFAMA, please visit www.efama.org