High levels of complexity around the holistic balance sheet (HBS) approach in the revised IORP Directive, and member states› varying assumptions in testing the new supervisory tool, could lead to "significant" risks, the Dutch Pensions Federation has warned.
Releasing its position paper on the first quantitative impact study (QIS) for the revised IORP Directive, the association argued that the differing approaches taken by individual member states to calculate the components of the HBS could lead to different valuation outcomes and prudential conclusions.
According to the association, the first QIS exercise conducted by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) highlighted that a number of components within the HBS – such as the "strong" dependence on credit ratings and the fact some pension funds use deterministic calculations, as opposed to stochastic valuations – could increase risk for occupational pensions.