Cross-Border Obstacles and Solutions for Pan-European Pensions

Pensions are currently at the top of the agenda of companies, employees, pension carriers, governments and, last but not least, the European Commission. This is partly because of the economic crisis pension funds are in right now but also because of the ageing population and the impact on public treasuries. These problems however cannot be solved easily. A well-functioning internal market for pan-European pensions without tax barriers can however contribute in solving the current pension crisis.

In this article the authors describe the current situation and legislation regarding cross-border pension carriers and pension schemes within the EU. Since taxation is still one of the largest barriers for a well-functioning internal market for pension schemes, this aspect gets a lot of attention of the authors. They do not only describe current legislation and recommend changes; they also present a solution which is already being developed and is in line with current legislation: a multi-country tax-efficient pension scheme.