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Transparency of supplementary pensions - Innovations for employers and pension institutions

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The Act amending several provisions to reinforce transparency under the second pension pillar was published in the Belgian Official Gazette on 2 February 2023. This new Act aims to improve information on supplementary pensions and introduce a number of administrative simplifications. Both for employers (i.e. the organizer) and pension institutions (insurers and pension funds), the Act brings quite a few innovations. Below, we highlight the main points for you.

1 WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR EMPLOYERS?

For employers, the new Act provides for a number of administrative simplifications and adjustments regarding information obligations:

  • From 1 January 2024, Sigedis will be responsible for drafting and communicating the pension benefit statement (former “pensioenfiche” or “fiche de pension”) to all affiliates. The rules on how the data in the pension benefit statement are presented and calculated are still to be determined in a Royal Decree.
  • The information obligation of the organizer two months prior to retirement regarding the possibility of payment in lump sum or annuity was abolished from 1 January 2023. The various information procedures in case of exit, retirement and death are clarified.  
  • The Act provides for the possibility of transferring all other “active” information obligations (e.g. information at retirement) to Sigedis from 1 January 2023.
  • A number of forms that some employers were required to submit to the FSMA were abolished from 1 January 2023, i.e.:
    • The notification to the FSMA of a change of pension institution and a possible transfer of reserves (form “WAP-3” or “LPC-3”).
    • The notification to the FSMA of the number of individual pension commitments (form “WAP-4” or “LPC-4”).

2 WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR PENSION INSTITUTIONS?

The Act primarily ensures that a number of information obligations that already applied to pension funds, also apply to insurers through their incorporation in the Supplementary Pensions Act. These are:

  • The general provisions on information obligations (concerning, amongst other things, easy readability, use of clear, concise and comprehensible language, preservation on a durable medium, modalities of information provision, etc.);
  • The information obligations to “future members” before or at the time of affiliation;
  • The information obligations on the pension plan and the transparency report to be made available to affiliates and beneficiaries; and
  • The information obligations during the payout phase. 

In addition, the administrative simplifications will serve not only employers but also pension institutions:

  • From 1 January 2024 onwards, Sigedis will be responsible for drafting and communicating the pension benefit statement (former “pensioenfiche” or “fiche de pension”) to all affiliates.
  • The Act provides for the possibility of transferring all other “active” information obligations (e.g. information at retirement) to Sigedis and to make information intended for all members and/or beneficiaries (e.g. transparency report) available via mypension.be from 1 January 2023
  • The various information procedures in case of exit, retirement and death are clarified.

3 TO DO?

Now that the Act has been published in the Belgian Official Gazette, it will be useful to take the following actions:

  • Employers and pension institutions should discuss the extent to which they wish to make additional use of Sigedis and mypension.be where this possibility/choice is provided by the new Act.
  • Pension institutions should take into account the new information obligations that apply to them.
  • The existing internal procedures regarding information obligations and the payout procedure should be reviewed and adjusted where necessary.

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