The Actuarial Association of Europe (AAE) has identified several “cross-cutting challenges” that must be addressed to achieve an effective and citizen-centred European tracking service (ETS) for pensions.

In its discussion paper, Towards a European Pension Tracking Service: Key considerations and findings, the association examined the development of pension tracking systems (PTS) across six EU member States – Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Slovakia – considering how these experiences can inform the design of the future ETS.

The findings reflect those of the AAE Working Group on Pension Tracking Systems (PTS), which was re-established in December 2023 to update and expand the AAE’s earlier work in this field.

It found that national approaches are diverse. In most countries, the PTS covers at least the first pillar (state pensions), while the inclusion of occupational (second pillar) and personal (third pillar) pensions varies significantly.

Furthermore, secure logins to access PTS are common, but data formats, update frequencies, and the level of detail differ widely, the AAE said.

Beyond these technical differences, the AAE outlined several challenges to address.
A key starting point was clarifying objectives, notably whether the ETS is intended to serve an informational, advisory or behavioural role.

This should be accompanied by efforts to ensure the completeness and consistency of data across pension pillars and providers, addressing current gaps and inconsistencies that risk undermining trust and usability.

Further progress is also dependent on establishing a common data structure and calculation methodology, the AEE said, including the consistent treatment of projection assumptions and the presentation of gross versus net values.

Equally important is a user-friendly presentation, reflecting the differing needs and levels of understanding of citizens and professionals, it said.

Finally, the association recommended that a robust framework for secure data sharing and governance at the European level is required to support the system’s operation and credibility.

Taken together, these challenges highlight the core characteristics of an effective PTS/ETS: reliability, clarity, comparability, completeness and accessibility, according to the AAE.

Against this backdrop, the AAE stated that actuaries can play a central role in helping to translate these objectives into practice, drawing on their expertise in modelling, projection and the communication of uncertainty.

“The actuarial profession is well placed to support European and national bodies in developing coherent methodologies, assessing data quality, and establishing standards that ensure pension information remains meaningful and comparable across member states,” it stated.

It further urged the development of the ETS to be guided by clear goals agreed across all stakeholders.

“Once objectives are defined, the means to achieve them become much easier to determine,” it said, adding that “substantial coordination will be required to transform this experience into a coherent and future-proof European Tracking Service”.

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