European Union pensions policy

Briefing 09-04-2014

Although Member States have the primary responsibility for designing their pension systems, major demographic changes along with strong economic shocks make the case for updating the European Union's role as regards pensions.The European Commission’s 2012 White Paper on pensions has been fundamental to this process. Describing how the European Union (EU) could best help Member States to provide pensions for an ageing population, it emphasises the need to address the objectives of adequacy, safety and sustainability together.