The German Insurance Association (GDV) has welcomed the European Commission’s (EC) move to reinforce the supplementary pension sector as part of the European Savings and Investments Union (SIU).

In a statement published on its website, the GDV said that the nation’s insurance industry was well placed to contribute to the challenges facing pension systems across Europe and in the transformation of the continent’s economy.

As European Pensions has previously reported, the EC’s SIU strategy looks to mobilise private savings for long-term investment and ease access to equity finance, including a blueprint savings and investments account and actions to strengthen the uptake of private and occupational pensions.

It is a move that the GDV said it is fully behind.

The GDV wrote: “Insurers manage over €1.9tn in assets, with more than €500bn already invested in enterprises, infrastructure, and the green transition. With 84 million life insurance policies and €102bn in annual payouts, the sector offers broad access to secure long-term savings.”

However, the GDV did warn that the interests of consumers should be at the centre of any move.

It wrote: “In all of this, consumer expectations must remain at the centre. A recent study shows nearly half of German savers value security over flexibility or returns. Pension products, therefore, must balance long-term investment in productive assets with the provision of reliable, trusted savings vehicles.”

It went on to highlight what it called ‘four key areas’ around the EC’s recent consultation on supplementary pensions. These were the upcoming review of the IORP II Directive, the review of the Pan-European Personal Pension Product (PEPP), the auto-enrolment of people into workplace pensions, and pensions tracking.

The last of these is possibly the most interesting. Back in January, the state launched the Digital Pension Overview. But now the GDV says that citizen uptake has been low with limited access via online ID cards.

The GDV said: “Broader use requires simpler authentication and stronger public awareness. A successful system must be intuitive, secure, and efficient.”

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