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"As a defender of workers’ rights, including their right to a safe mobility and to continuous information, I am pleased to see the emergence of a European project aimed at tracking pension rights across Europe. In my view, seeking a truly European solution instead of applying a pre-existing system on a European scale is a sensible choice," said the President of the European Economic and Social Committee George Dassis at a conference organised jointly by the TTYPE (Track and Trace Your Pension in Europe) Consortium and the EESC. "Since the European Tracking Service would serve public purposes (informing citizens on their pension rights and removing obstacles to intra-European mobility), as well as private purposes (helping institutions for retirement provision to better inform their members), I believe that it should at least be co-financed by the Commission."

The Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility Marianne Thyssen expressed her support and commitment for the creation of a European pension tracking service.  "Thanks to the work of TTYPE consortium, we now are in the position to say, clearly and in a substantiated way, that the European Tracking Service is absolutely feasible. The business model and the roll-out plan show how it can be put into place. The European Commission is committed to giving its political backing to this important initiative. We have already secured financing for the first stage and we will actively work to secure financing also for the next stages. However, the commitment and participation of stakeholders across the EU is essential to ensure further co-funding for the next stages until it can become financially independent." Commissioner Thyssen said that the Commission will, later this year, announce a Call for proposals to support the first stage of ETS implementation.

"We deliver the TTYPE project with much confidence. Not least due to the support from the EC. The EC has backed the project as such all the way, but they have also engaged so much with the basic idea and development of a European Tracking Service for pensions. Together with committed stakeholders and pension providers from all over Europe, it's time to bring it alive," said the Chairman of the TTYPE Steering Committee and of Pensions Info DK Peter Melchior.

At the conference the TTYPE Consortium presented its final report on the project "Track and Trace Your Pension in Europe" which marks an important milestone in the establishment of a European Pensions Tracking Service. More and more European employees are internationally mobile in the labour market. They move from one country to another, or they may work with companies working across borders in the EU. Today such employment will very often include a pension. However, an employee's pension accumulation may be scattered over various countries and different schemes and, as a result, they may lose track of information on their pension rights. The TTYPE project offered a design for the creation of a European Pensions Tracking Service which would benefit citizens, especially those who have worked in multiple European countries, by providing them with information on pension entitlements that would otherwise be difficult to obtain. The European Pensions Tracking Service would have benefits for the pension providers, too – it would help them to supply more comprehensive information and a wider range of services to their participants in a cost-effective way.

For more information please contact:

Siana Glouharova, EESC Press Unit

E-mail: press@eesc.europa.eu

Tel.: +32 2 546 9276

@EESC_PRESS

Claus Skadhauge, Senior consultant

E-mail:  cs@pka.dk

Tel.: +45 39 45 45 11

Mob.: +45 40 30 45 49