The Association of German Public Insurers welcomes the EIOPA-consultation on the proposed approaches and considerations for EIOPA’s Technical Advice, Implementing and Regulatory Technical Standards under Regulation (EU) 2019/1238 on a Pan-European Personal Pension Product (PEPP). As Germany’s second largest primary insurance provider with a strong regional presence, the group is committed to constructive dialogue in the interests of all market participants and of a stable European and global insurance sector.
Executive Summary
As voluntary regime, demand and supply of PEPPs on the market will determine the success of this project. Attractiveness of the product to savers and equally to providers are therefore essential.
Cost transparency is one important feature of PEPPs. As the indirect costs of capital guarantees as specific type of risk mitigation technique are already captured in the other categories as administration, distribution and investment costs, there should be no separate category “cost of the guarantee” in the cost disclosure.
To account for the different structures of fees and charges in Member States, the cost cap of the Basic PEPP should be based on the Reduction in Yield approach. Furthermore, either all distribution costs need to be excluded, or fees for advice must fully be incorporated in the cost cap to compensate the differences between markets that are commission-based and others that work with fees for advice.
In the calculation of the cost cap, the indirect cost of capital guarantees of one third of total costs must be excluded to ensure a level playing field.