| The development of a suitable pan-European pensions product for employees of multi-national corporations was the topic of much debate in a seminar held on Wednesday, April 10th, in conjunction with the Finance Dublin Annual Conference. John Feely, chairman of the Irish Association of Pension Funds acted as chairman for the afternoon session and said ‘it was a very good debate. We have a lot of positive things going as far as establishing Ireland as a base for pan-European pensions but there is still a long way to go. Other European countries will look towards capturing part of the pan-European pensions market considering how substantial it is. The debate over the winning model for a pan-European pensions product, be it life assurance or fund type vehicles will continue - the jury is still out on this.’ Brendan Logue, head of the financial services division, IDA Ireland, presented a paper at the seminar and agreed that it provoked good debate and reaction from attendees. Logue says that it is now necessary to focus on cross border selling issues, support systems, developing relationships with multinationals and an interactive product with internet access is important. Feely believes that it is critical to sit down with multi nationals and determine what they are looking for. There may be a range of solutions that are suitable and not just one. Tax relief is a big issue according to Feely as are the administration issues such as technology and language capabilities. |
