EUROPE - Europe's first international pension education group will hold its first course on 25 May and is looking for the backing of more national pension associations.

The Association for European Retirement Education (A-ERE), which will be run on a self-financing but not-for-profit basis, will help pension fund board members and sponsors understand best practice and deploy new structures under European law.

It also aims to promote the interests of pension beneficiaries and to "discuss, but not to judge, national pension systems".

The association has the backing of Finland's TELA pension association, Italy's MEFOP, as well as the SPO pension education grouping in the Netherlands. The European Federation for Retirement Provision (EFRP) and the European Association for Paritarian Institutions (AEIP) are among the supporting members. It is hoping to get associations from Denmark and Ireland on board soon, with others following in due course.

"We are trying to set up a forum for interested pension funds to come together learn about the opportunities in regulation, legislation and opportunities under European law," said Peter Kraneveld, secretary of the A-ERE, who was formerly chief economist at PGGM.

European pension funds could link with similar institutions in other EU member states, to achieve economies of scale without a merger or formal integration of investment or benefit structures, continued Kraneveld.

"One of the opportunities is fiduciary management, which until now has only been used by parties on a domestic basis," added Kraneveld added, pointing to the recent tie-up between APG/Cordares in the Netherlands and Italy's Pensplan, for which he also acts as an adviser.

Course leaders will include Kraneveld and Lodewijk Buschkens, managing partner of ICODA European Affairs, a Brussels based consultancy.

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