European institutions for occupational retirement provision (IORPs) saw contributions increase by 17.5 per cent in 2022, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has revealed.

Publishing its data release on IORPs for the final quarter (Q4) of 2022, EIOPA said that a surge in active members has led to an increase in contributions. On average, sponsors match every euro contributed by members of occupational pension funds with an additional €2.

Contributions in 2022 amounted to €99.1bn, up from €84.3bn in 2021 and €83.4bn in 2020.

Despite new active members increasing in recent years, the number of beneficiaries receiving payouts has remained relatively stable. The number of active members stood at 35.4 million, deferred members accounted for 25 million and there were 11 million beneficiaries at the end of 2022.

In total, European IORPs had 71.4 million members and held €2.34trn in assets at the end of 2022.

Most of these assets are allocated to investment funds (40 per cent), government bonds (22 per cent), equity (18 per cent) and corporate bonds (12 per cent) with the four categories making up 92 per cent of all investments.

A further 4 per cent is invested in cash and deposits, 1 per cent in mortgages and loans, 1 per cent in property and 2 per cent classed as other.

Looking more specifically, European IORPs have a collective equity stake of €182bnin US businesses, making it the biggest country European IORPs allocate equity to. On the other hand, Germany is the most attractive country for government bonds with European IORPs allocating €99bn.

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