Milestones in the supervision of Occupational Pension Funds (OPFs) in Greece
2002
The institution of occupational insurance was introduced in Greece by virtue of Articles 7 and 8 of Law 3029/2002 (Government Gazette A 160), which stipulated the conditions regarding the establishment and operation of OPFs as non-profit legal entities governed by private law. Their purpose, as defined in law, was the provision of occupational insurance protection, in addition to that provided by compulsory social security, and their operation was based on the funded system. The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the National Actuarial Authority were designated as the competent supervisory authorities.
The new institutional framework provided that occupational insurance is optional in terms of both the establishment of pension funds, as provided for by law, and the affiliation of insured persons thereto, as well as in terms of the possibility for insured persons to join more than one pension funds.
2014
According to Article 180 of Law 4261/2014 (Government Gazette Α 107), as of 30.1.2015, the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC) was designated as jointly competent supervisory authority on issues related to investments of OPFs, including in particular the supervision of compliance with the stipulated investment limits and investment regulations and the appointment of a depositary and/or management company, in cases where the OPF did not manage its investments on its own. In addition, investment rules were introduced, pursuant to the “prudent person” principle, as well as new investment limits for the investment portfolios of OPFs.
2020
Law 4680/2020 (Government Gazette A 72), transposing Directive (EU) 2016/2341 (IORP II) into Greek legislation, complements the conditions of operation of OPFs in particular with regard to the system of governance, outsourcing, investment management and the depositary. The above Law introduces new provisions on cross-border activities and procedures and cross-border transfers, sets out requirements on the provision of information to members and beneficiaries and establishes rules on prudential supervision tasks carried out by the competent supervisory authorities.
2023
Law 5078/2023 (Government Gazette A' 211), which effectively repealed Law 4680/2020 and re-transposed Directive (EU) 2016/2341 (IORP II) into Greek legislation, introduced significant changes to the operation and supervision framework of OPFs with the aim of reforming the institution of occupational insurance and ensuring its growth as a second pillar of insurance protection.
The new regulatory framework incorporates, in a coherent way, the specific national regulations as well as the relevant European Union requirements (IORP II) pertaining to the operation of OPFs.
In addition, the previously applicable trilateral system of supervision of the OPFs by the Ministry of Labour, the National Actuarial Authority and the Hellenic Capital Market Commission was abolished and, thus, all supervisory responsibilities were assigned to the Bank of Greece, which receives/collects all required information and carries out the supervision of OPFs, building on its expertise on the supervision of funded systems.
2025
As of 1.1.2025, the supervision of OPFs is carried out by the Bank of Greece.