Book Description

In June 2017, the European Commission proposed a framework for a pan-European pension product (PEPP) designed to give EU citizens a new option for good value and safe voluntary supplementary pension saving. This could support pension adequacy and at the same time provide another source of long-term investment funds and so help to meet the objectives of the capital markets union (CMU). Together with a proposal for a regulation for a pan-European personal pension product, the Commission also presented a recommendation to encourage Member States to grant the same tax treatment to PEPPs as they grant to similar existing national personal pension products. On 11 January 2018, the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament authorised its Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) to draft a legislative own-initiative report on the 'Tax treatment of pension products, including the pan-European personal pension product 2018/2002(INL)', to be prepared by the rapporteur Sophia in 't Veld (ALDE, the Netherlands) – see the proposal for a motion for a resolution in Annex 1. All legislative own-initiative reports are automatically accompanied by a European added value assessment (EAVA). The purpose of an EAVA is to support a European Parliament legislative initiative by providing an assessment of the potential added value of taking action at EU level. Two European Parliament draft reports have been prepared as part of the process leading to a decision regarding the European Commission PEPP proposal and PEPP recommendation. The first draft report covers the PEPP proposal and the second the PEPP recommendation. This EAVA analyses both the PEPP proposal and the recommendation and provides information in support of the committee’s draft report on the Commission's PEPP recommendation. There exists clear evidence for the European added value to be achieved through the PEPP. As the PEPP facilitates cross-border mobility by providing a simpler pension product for people who have worked or who plan to work in several Member States, it would contribute to the free movement of people. An economic dimension derives from the fact that supranational operations deliver greater benefits to Members States (increased voluntary pension savings), savers (better and cheaper products, larger variety of products) and service providers (larger customer base, simplified legislation, fewer cross-border transaction costs).