2a. Derivative contracts that are objectively measurable as reducing risks directly related to the financial solvency of pension scheme investments under Directive 2003/41/EC or a scheme where the law of the Member State recognises the scheme for retirement planning shall be excluded from the clearing obligation set out in Article 3 for a period of three years after the entry into force of this regulation, where the posting of liquid collateral would result in an undue burden on the investor due to asset conversion requirements.

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;

Had these pension plans been terminated and wound up as of January 1, 2009, employees and retirees would have received only 76% of their promised pensions.

5. Points out that, since the mid-1990s, there has been an increasing number of pension funds and insurance companies with holdings in HF and PE and that their failure would negatively affect the pension entitlements of the pension schemes' members; calls on the Commission, in reviewing Directive 2003/41/EC, to ensure that employees or staff representatives are informed directly or via trustees about the way in which their pensions are invested and the associated risks, and that they have a say therein and calls on the Member States to use best practice to ensure that company pensions acquired by employees are shielded from bankruptcies;

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;

The budget proposes not to apply the rules that reduce the transferable amount in cases where the assets of the plan are insufficient to pay benefits and the reduction in the lifetime benefits is approved under applicable pension benefits legislation, be it federal or provincial or, in the case of individual pension plans, the plan is being wound up.