Nearly three-quarters of European employers have cited an overly complex regulatory environment as the main factor in hampering the provision or expansion of occupational pension arrangements, according to a survey conducted by Aon Hewitt.

The survey, carried out in December, found that 66 per cent of employers struggle with legislation complexity surrounding cross border IORPs. Seventy six per cent did however support the idea of having cross-border arrangements in place. In response to the second consultation launched by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) concerning the review of the IORPs directive, Aon Hewitt said that continuing legislative changes will further increase costs for employers.

Aon Hewitt head of research and EU affairs Leonardo Sforza said: “Cross-border IORPs offers multinational employers a valuable business opportunity to drive operational efficiency in their pension provision as well as offering significant improvements to their pension plan governance.

“Further tinkering with the structure of the EU pension fund directive is not required. What is needed is a common definition of what constitutes cross-border activity and greater simplification of the statutory requirements for setting up cross-border arrangements.”

The consultancy also stated that EIOPA and the European Commission have a vital role to play in the implementation of legislative requirements and greater communication is needed between pension fund professionals, employers and employees associations.

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