The Minister for Pensions Steve Webb has urged the European Commission (EC) to abandon its “reckless” Solvency II plans for defined benefit pension schemes, following yesterday’s preliminary results published by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA).

Figures released yesterday showed that the implementation of a holistic balance sheet (HBS) and Solvency II-type regulations could add a £450bn cost to pension schemes.

Webb in the past has accentuated the “devastating” impact that these proposals could have if implemented.

Webb stated: “The EU’s latest figures show the extremely high cost its plans would place on UK defined benefit pension schemes. In fact, its estimate of a baseline £450bn cost is in line with the worst case scenario contained in figures The Pensions Regulator produced for the UK government last year.

“This confirms that any such new rules would harm businesses’ ability to invest, grow and create jobs, and many more schemes could be forced to close. I continue to urge the Commission to abandon these reckless plans.”

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