PensionsEurope has called on the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) to introduce a genuine "report once" principle for pension funds, arguing that institutions for occupational retirement provision (IORPs) face unnecessary duplication of reporting across national and European frameworks.

In its response to EIOPA's consultation on integrated data collection, PensionsEurope noted that pension funds are currently required to report similar information to multiple authorities, including national supervisors, EIOPA, the European Central Bank (ECB) and, in some cases, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) through EMIR reporting.

The organisation argued that data already available at EU level should be reused rather than repeatedly requested through different templates, definitions and reporting channels.

"In supervisory reporting, 'only report once' should be a guiding principle. Information already available (at EU level) should be used first," PensionsEurope stated.

In addition, the association warned that any future integrated reporting framework must be proportionate and reflect the specific characteristics of occupational pension schemes.

It highlighted the challenges faced by smaller and medium-sized IORPs, arguing that complex reporting requirements, including look-through data and derivatives reporting, can create disproportionate burdens relative to their size and risk exposures.

PensionsEurope also called for greater rationalisation of sustainability reporting, noting that ESG-related disclosure requirements under the IORP II Directive often overlap with the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and national sustainability frameworks.

Therefore, it suggested creating a core ESG dataset that could be reused across multiple reporting frameworks, helping reduce operational complexity while maintaining effective sustainability risk management.

Meanwhile, PensionsEurope also used its response to reject any attempt to align IORP reporting requirements with the Solvency II framework.

"The Solvency II framework is not a legal basis for extending reporting requirements to pension funds outside the scope of Solvency II," it stated, warning that introducing Solvency II-style reporting into the IORP framework would add complexity without delivering additional supervisory value and could undermine national social and labour law arrangements.

The organisation also raised concerns about the timeline for EIOPA's work, noting that the authority is required to submit its report on integrated data collection under the revised Solvency II Directive by January 2027.

PensionsEurope argued that this deadline is driven by insurance-sector legislation and does not allow sufficient time to properly assess the specific circumstances of IORPs.

It therefore called for the insurance and pension fund workstreams to be formally separated.

Finally, PensionsEurope warned that EIOPA's work should support the EU's objective of reducing administrative burdens by 25 per cent rather than creating new reporting requirements for pension funds.

"Integrated data collection should not become a vehicle for expanding supervisory scope or for enforcing harmonisation that is unsuited to occupational pensions," the organisation concluded.

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