The Pensionskasse for the catholic aid organisation Caritas, its affiliate Kölner, and other German pension schemes will set up a new platform to provide services to Pensionskassen.

The Pensionskassen Service Gesellschaft eG (PKSG), as the new company is called, will serve in the future as a platform to strike synergies among partners to provide services to pension funds, Caritas and Kölner Pensionskassen said in statement.

The German schemes are establishing the new company in light of increasing regulatory complexity, supported by internal, strategic projects, they added.

The main cause of concern for German Pensionskassen is now the implementation of regulations, according to a recent survey published by WTW, after years of pension schemes managers scratching their heads on how to deal with the impact of low interest rates on their portfolios.

Caritas and Kölner pension schemes were among those suffering from a protracted period of low interest rates, with the financial supervisory authority BaFin revoking the licence to operate their insurance businesses while drafting restructuring plans.

Caritas said that 2023 was a “good financial year”, adding that it was able to further strengthen equity capital and risk-bearing capacity. Its solvency ratio increased by almost 20% to 126% in 2023, compared with 107% in 2022, it added.

Assets set aside for investments declined slightly to €430m last year, compared with €432m in 2022. The scheme achieved a €13.87m return on investment, just below the €13.94m return in 2022, the statement added.

The number of members increased to 23,474 last year, compared with 22,720 in 2022, due to a new management system introduced by the scheme, it said.

Contributions fell by 5.9% to €6.5m, and the amount of benefits paid was on par with 2023 at €22.4m.

Meanwhile, Kölner Pensionskasse’s invested assets increased by 2% year-on-year to €412m in 2023, with total returns reaching €10.96m in 2023, slightly below €10.99m achieved in the prior year, it said.

The number of pension fund members decreased to 28,698 last year, from 29,170 in 2022. The scheme was not allowed to sign contracts as it was closed to new business.

Contributions fell by 6.4% to €11.7m, due to the expected decline in the number of paying members, while benefits paid amounted to €7.7m in 2023, compared with €7.3m in 2022, it added.

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