PensionsEurope is delighted to announce a new partnership with ITN Productions Industry News to create a news-style programme #InvestingintheFuture raising awareness of the importance of pension planning in a pandemic informed world.

In our input to the European Commission, PensionsEurope supports the Commission’s objective to simplify the life of taxpayers operating in the single market and we welcome the review of the VAT rules. In general, we believe all pension fund participants should be protected from unnecessary VAT burdens, regardless the character of the schemes as well as the Member State in which the services are being received. The current exemption for special investment funds should be extended to all pension schemes.

Even though the VAT exemption is in place, in some countries there is a stamp duty (for instance 4%) that is not subject or exempt from VAT and there is no possibility of any deduction. We urge the EC to recommend Member States to exempt (at least) pension schemes from this duty (or decrease their duty to no more than 1%).

Finally, we believe that establishing a cross-border investment-friendly tax environment in the EU not only requires removing unfair tax treatment but also introducing tax incentives.

In a press release issued today, PensionsEurope corrects the conclusions from Better Finance on the Bulgarian pension funds. Making use of incorrect data, Better Finance declares that Bulgarian private pensions have failed and goes as far as to recommend reversing the private pension reform of 2000 which means nationalising individual pension savings in Bulgaria. Not only would this have a detrimental effect on Bulgarian pensions, it also strongly contradicts with numerous European policy recommendations that highlight the importance of strengthening supplementary pensions in order for all Europeans to have adequate and sustainable income in old age. Read more in our press release.