Currently, and it will change under these new proposed rules, pension plan sponsors are required to evaluate their plans only every three years if they're already fully funded.

I also am aware that the government is conducting consultations in general on the whole issue of pensions and whether any changes need to be made for the long term.

10. Observes that the first-, second- and third-pillar pension schemes in Member States differ significantly from one another, that the EU lacks a set of common criteria, definitions and an in-depth analysis which would thoroughly explain the various pension systems and their capacity to meet the needs of citizens and that there is therefore a lack of transparent supervision applicable to all systems; stresses that the EU should primarily enhance the comparability of pension schemes and promote the exchange of good practices; is of the opinion that the Commission needs to make the necessary efforts to come up with a typology of pension ...[+++] systems in Member States as well as with a common set of definitions in order to make systems comparable;

25. Recognises the fact that public pension systems strengthen social solidarity and are the responsibility of the Member States and that safeguarding these systems should be a political priority; believes that greater use of alternatives to state-funded pensions, such as supplementary schemes, could be a viable alternative; points out that private pensions could include occupational supplementary pension schemes by employers or other collective organisations and associations and individual supplementary pensions based on savings; emphasises that the existence of private pensions would increase the need for the appropriate regulation of private pension funds, the portability of such pensions and the promotion and continued modernisation ...[+++](including more flexibility) of these alternatives; within this framework, believes that the risk should be taken into account that women in the context of the existing public pension system might lose insurance coverage if private provisions are to replace this system, but that this risk can be reduced by crediting pension entitlements for maternity leave, parental leave and breaks from work for personal reasons;

14. Stresses the importance of combating indirect discrimination in pension schemes, not only in occupational schemes but also in the practices of statutory pension schemes; emphasises that the Court of Justice of the European Union has made it clear that occupational pension schemes are to be considered as pay and that the principle of equal treatment therefore applies to these schemes as well, despite the fact that the distinction between statutory and occupational pension schemes is problematic in some Member States and that the concept of occupational pension schemes is unknown in some Member States, which might lead to indirect dis ...[+++]crimination in the labour market;

Yesterday, six years after the Voyageur disaster, OSFI's annual report said it was going to change regulations to require pension plan sponsors to “fully fund promised benefits ontermination of the plan”.