THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

- reminds that local and regional authorities represent the majority of the public sector employment in Europe and that they for this reason often are responsible for the provision of both public and occupational pension schemes (2nd pillar) to their staff after retirement;
- stresses that public pensions will continue to have a fundamental role in ensuring pension systems that provide every pensioner with an adequate income;
- stresses that budgetary consolidation should take into account the continued responsibility of Member States to assure, to a reasonable degree, the living standard of their citizens after retirement, as guaranteed in the European Union's Charter of Fundamental Rights;
- requests the Commission to ensure that the next steps to be undertaken by the European Commission in this area are accompanied by proper impact assessments, covering notably the impact on local and regional authorities;
- invites the Commission and the Member States to consider EU Pension coordination, particularly within the framework of the Open Method of Coordination, as a central element in the implementation of the EU2020 Strategy towards smart, green and inclusive growth;
- invites the Commission and the Member States to add a social dimension and a local and regional dimension to the macro economic surveillance. The effects on pensions and the social impact on pensioners due to budgetary measures and reforms need to be taken into account, as does the capacity of local and regional authorities to compensate, through welfare benefits and social services, for the fall in the incomes of retired people and those approaching retirement caused by these measures and reforms;
- considers that the EU should develop codes of good practice for the design and management of defined contribution schemes.