PensionsEurope has urged the European Commission (EC) not to extend the scope of its draft guidelines on the classification of high-risk artificial intelligence (AI) systems to include personal pension products.

In its response to the EC's consultation, the association argued that the inclusion of personal pension products in paragraph 317 of the draft guidelines goes beyond the scope of the AI Act, as pension products are not listed under Point 5(c) of Annex III.

It noted that Point 5(c) of Annex III applies to AI systems used for risk assessment and pricing in relation to natural persons in the case of life and health insurance.

“Pension products are not mentioned in that provision and should not be introduced into its scope by means of interpretative guidance.

"Therefore, we believe that extending the high-risk classification to pension products through the guidelines goes beyond the wording and scope of Annex III and creates legal uncertainty for providers and deployers operating in the pensions sector,” the association stated.

It also argued that the wording in the draft guidelines – “in so far as these can have a significant impact on a person's livelihood in old age” – is problematic because it does not provide a clear legal demarcation.

It therefore called for the reference to personal pension products to be deleted from paragraph 317.

“If the European Commission considers that certain AI use cases in relation to pension products may raise risks comparable to those already listed in Annex III, this issue should be addressed through the appropriate legislative mechanism for amending or supplementing the list of high-risk use cases, and not through an expansive interpretation of point 5(c),” it stated.

---