16/10/2009

By Sophie Baker

The International Organisation of Pension Supervisors (IOPS) has approved a series of guidelines and reports which are designed to strengthen the supervisory oversight of global pension systems, and to protect vulnerable fund members and retirees.

At its 2009 Annual General Meeting, IOPS agreed to these measures in relation to the recent challenging and volatile economic conditions.

The Guidelines for Supervisory Intervention, Sanctions and Enforcement outlines global good practice when it comes to the powers needed and used by supervisory authorities in relation to intervening, applying sanctions and enforcement. Another Working Paper, Pension Funds' Risk-management Frameworks: Regulation and Supervisory Oversight, looks at the type of risk-management systems supervisory authorities expect pension funds to have in place, and outlines ways that supervisors can check their systems are operating sufficiently.

IOPS has also addressed recent failures in effective oversight of the global financial system, and has encouraged IOPS members to look at their own operations and governance. Working Paper Governance and Performance Mechanisms of Supervisory Authorities addresses how the good governance of pension supervisory authorities can be summarised in four categories: independence, accountability, transparency and integrity.

"I am pleased that the organisation continues to make progress in developing a robust and practical body of work to aid our members in their important task of protecting investors in our ever-growing global pension funds," commented Ross Jones, IOPS president, and deputy chairman of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). "The turmoil in the financial markets in 2008 only serves to remind us that supervisors must constantly review and improve their own oversight systems and the IOPS international standards and surveys are an important resource for helping us stay at the forefront of pension supervision."

The AGM also saw Jones re-elected to serve a further two years as IOPS president, and representative authorities from Australia, Egypt, India, Italy and Jordan were also elected to serve on the IOPS Executive Committee.

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