CBI's chief policy director, Katja Hall, also argued that the staggered staging dates for auto-enrolment the lobby group had fought for – thereby spreading the immediate cost over several years – was keeping the reforms alive. Regarding the potential introduction of Solvency II – proposed by the European Commission – Hall said there was "no reason" for changes to the current pension system, insisting it had proven itself during the recent financial turmoil.
She argued that removing the need to seek significant returns on investments would lead to a "massive" flight from equities, with schemes focusing instead on government bonds at a time when the eurozone debt crisis had resulted in a shift to supposed safe-haven assets, reducing bond yields. "We have told the Commission, trade unions have told the Commission, the pension funds have told the Commission – but they don't want to listen", she said. Arguing that the proposals would also undermine the UK government's current economic goals, she said introducing Solvency II was based on the "wrong-headed" notion that European defined benefit (DB) schemes were identical to insurance contracts.
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