Occupational pension funds are financial institutions that manage collective retirement schemes for employers, in order to provide benefits to employees.
Occupational pension funds benefit from the principles of free movement of capital and free provision of services in the EU. This means that
-
pension funds in one EU country can manage occupational pension schemes for companies established in another EU country
-
pan-EU companies can have a single pension fund for all their subsidiaries throughout the EU
Occupational pension funds operating in the EU are regulated by Directive 2003/41/EC, also known as the IORP directive.
Revision of the IORP directive
In December 2016, the EU adopted a recast version of the IORP directive to encourage long-term investment through occupational pension funds.