AN EU SINGLE MARKET FOR PERSONAL PENSIONS

ANATERESA BREDADECEMBER 2014

Master Thesis

Master of Science in European Integration and Development

Why covering this topic?

• Bring empirical evidence on why a single market for personal pensions does not yet exist and what could be the best actions taken at EU level that could promote it, from the perspective of the PPP providers operating in the EU.

• The answers to these questions could help the European Commission and EIOPA’s current work in this area.

Research Question

This study aims at shedding light on three questions:

(i) What are the barriers for the cross border activity of

personal pension providers within the EU ?

(ii) What are the consequences of these barriers for those

personal pension providers which (intend to) sell personal

pension products cross borders within the EU ?

(iii) What are the possible actions that could be taken at

EU level in order to facilitate the cross border activity of

personal pension providers ?

Sampling Frame

(29) Respondents

(23)

AM

(1) Small(1) 1 MS

(3) Medium(2) 1 MS

(1) 2+ MS

(19) large(6) 1 MS

(13) 2+ MS

(5) Insurers

(2) Small (2) 1 MS

(1) Medium (1) 1 MS

(2) Large (1) 1 MS

(1) 2+ MS

(1)

PF(1) Small (1) 1 MS

Small companies= <EUR 10 billion AuM; Medium companies= EUR 10-50 billion AuM; Large companies= EUR >EUR 50 billion.

Barriers to cross-border activity

Barriers (per type of provider)

Consequences of the barriers for PPP providers

Consequences (per type of provider)

Action needed at EU level

Solutions (per type of provider)

Implications of the findings

The findings of the survey

• support the relevance of the initiative taken by the European Commission in the creation of an internal market for personal pensions.

• show that the currently fragmented market in which personal pension providers are operating would benefit from future EU action that could facilitate their cross border activity in the EU.

• help the European Commission in its assessment of the most adequate measures to be considered in a future legislative initiative in this area.

Limitations

• all generic conclusions from the results of the survey should be taken as tentative

Further research needed

• (i) appropriate features of an EU personal pension product that could help overcome the current inefficiencies of a fragmented personal pension market.

• (ii) consumers’ concerns and desires should be understood to create an EU single market that could serve them best.

THANK YOU

ana.teresa.bartolomeu.breda@vub.ac.be