European Pensions for Switzerland

A project group of Innovation Second Pillar is currently evaluating options for extending the Pensions Directive's cross border regime to Switzerland and vice versa. With Switzerland not being part of the EU nor of the EEA, this constitutes a major impediment for otherwise highly experienced Swiss service providers. It also dispossesses Swiss firms with employees in the EU of potential economies of scale by forcing them to maintain dual structures.

The Pensions Directive is technically still not part of the legal body of the EEA at this point. This technicality is expected to be removed by May of this year, however. Nevertheless, the Principality of Liechtenstein, with which Switzerland has close ties, is part of the EEA and plans to transpose the Directive into its law by 1 January 2007. We are keeping a close watch on what is happening in the neighbourhood.