AEIP adopt its position on the Open Finance Framework initiative
In view of the ongoing discussions on the open finance framework AEIP has adopted today its position and invites EU stakeholders to consider the points raised to ensure the proper functioning of the occupational pension funds and the protection of the interests of members and beneficiaries.
AEIP welcomes the initiative on open finance and makes the following observations in relation to pension funds:
- The scope of the framework should be clearly defined: second pillar pension funds are inherently different from other financial market entities this stems from the fact that they play an important social role in adequate social protection and most importantly, they do not sell any products since employees benefit from their employment relationship, and are not customers.
- Combining financial information on second pillar pension plans with other financial products, without including information on first pillar pension plans or third pillar pension gives individuals a misleading picture on their financial situation. However, including first pillar pension in the open finance framework is not possible on the legal basis of Article 114 TFEU.
- Voluntary pension data sharing already exists in national and EU pension tracking services: Open finance should not create an additional layer of regulation which might lead to excessive administrative costs for pension funds or statutory pension providers.
- To ensure a proper legal framework for authorization of data sharing certain principles shall be taken into consideration such as customers’ trust, confidence, and transparency.
- Market participants with the same activity who create the same risks should be subject to the same standards in relation to consumer protection and operational resilience.
- For API standardisation requirements the starting point shall be to engage with industry stakeholders to ensure that these standards are well aligned with specific national and industry standards and practices.
- Open finance should be based on clear obligations and rights to determine liability, therefore liability should predominantly lie with the data user.
- Any additional administrative costs due to data sharing could lead to lower future benefits or might give rise to higher costs for an individual pension fund participant thus fair compensation for data holders is needed.
As part of its policy activities AEIP has shared the position paper with EU decision-makers and will further engage into discussions.
To read the full AEIP position on Open Finance Framework please see here.