Some ten months after selecting its key service providers [1], European cross-border pension plan RESAVER is poised to begin operations in March 2017.
A brainchild of the European Commission, RESAVER is a pension plan specially designed for highly mobile researchers working at public and private research institutions and universities, SMEs, and research and technical development companies. It is advised by Aon Hewitt; BlackRock won the initial investment management mandate; and Previnet is handling the administration.
The pan-European defined contribution (DC) plan was set up in 2016 under Belgian regulations as an OFP (“Organisme de Financement de Pensions”) and in early 2017 received the approval from the Belgian supervisory authority FSMA. In addition, the E.U. has awarded RESAVER a €400,000 grant to cover initial and running costs in its early years of operation and also earmarked more money in its Horizon 2020 budget.
From March 2017, the first member organizations will pay pensions premiums into the plan. Among them, the Central European University from Hungary; and Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste and Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, both from Italy. Over 20 institutions have joined RESAVER and some of them are expected to start contributions later in 2017.
Multinational corporations, not necessarily headquartered in the European Union but having several R&D facilities across Europe with personnel moving between them may want to consider joining RESAVER. Such a move could vastly simplify the management of their DC retirement plans. And future pensioners no longer will have to deal with at least one supplementary pension administrator per country of assignment. RESAVER is open not only for researchers, i.e. employees performing scientific research, but also for all other support and management personnel working at R&D facilities.
Now reserved for the R&D sector, RESAVER could also serve as a blueprint for other pan-European pension plans serving E.U.-mobile employees.
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