News in brief: 15 May

- Italy’s Pension Funds Supervisory Commission (COVIP) has launched two public consultations on draft guidelines implementing Italy’s 2025 supplementary pension reform under Law No. 199/2025.

The consultations cover new pension benefit payout options and minimum investment criteria for pension contributions arising from automatic or non-explicit enrolment. Both measures are scheduled to take effect from 1 July 2026. The first consultation introduces new retirement payout flexibilities, including increasing the maximum lump-sum withdrawal from 50 per cent to 60 per cent and creating three new types of supplementary pension benefits: fixed-term annuity, flexible determinable withdrawals, and instalment payment of the accumulated balance. The consultation closes on 29 May 2026.

The second consultation sets minimum requirements for investment strategies for auto-enrolled savers, requiring pension schemes to reduce investment risk as members approach retirement gradually. Non-compliant schemes may lose the ability to receive automatic enrolments, which would instead default to the National Supplementary Pension Fund for workers in the metalworking, plant installation, and related sectors (COMETA). The consultation closes on 21 May 2026. At the end of the consultation phase, all comments received will be made public on the COVIP website unless respondents indicate otherwise.


- The European Commission (EC) has launched a call for expressions of interest to appoint members to a reserve list for the Board of Appeal of the three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs): the European Banking Authority (EBA), European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), and European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).

The reserve list is designed to create a list of qualified candidates to fill vacancies that may arise within the Board of Appeal. The list will remain valid for five years from the date of adoption. The EC emphasised that inclusion in the list doesn’t guarantee an appointment as a member or alternate of the Board of Appeal. Instead, when a vacancy arises, the Management Boards of the respective ESAs, following consultation with their Boards of Supervisors, will select and appoint a candidate from the reserve list. Candidates nominated as members or alternates may also be invited by the European Parliament to make a statement and respond to questions. Applications must be submitted by 12pm on 8 June 2026.


- Italian pension fund, Fondo Pegaso, reported strong 2025 results, with its net assets available for benefits increasing by €130.5m.

During the Delegates’ Meeting held on 7 May to approve the 2025 Financial Statements, Pegaso also shared that membership increased to 41,433 members. The report also showed that the annual net returns increased across its Balance, Growth and Guaranteed sub-funds in 2025. The largest growth was in the Growth sub-fund, which returned +7.59 per cent, followed by the Balanced sub-fund at +3.85 per cent, and the Guaranteed sub-fund at +1.92 per cent.


- LCP Ireland’s Investment Summary for April 2026 has revealed that its sample defined benefit (DB) scheme’s funding level rose to around 109 per cent during the month, reflecting a rise in asset values.

LCP’s high-risk and medium-risk defined contribution (DC) strategies experienced positive returns over the month, while its pension purchase strategy experienced negative returns. Additionally, global equities also rose over the month by 9.3 per cent (in local currency terms), with Eurozone markets rising by 6.5 per cent, and North America increasing by 8.3 per cent (in euro terms). The US dollar weakened against the euro over the month.



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