Employee pension insurance

The objectives of the work of the Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA) include ensuring the stable operation of pension institutions, safeguarding the interests of the insured, and general confidence in the functioning of financial markets. In practice, the FIN-FSA implements supervision by conducting investigations and narrowly focused inspections, and through ongoing supervision. Ongoing supervision refers to the regular supervision of pension institutions based on the electronic or other reports supplied by the pension institutions, contacts, meetings and other general monitoring and supervision of activities. In addition, the FIN-FSA must be notified or the FIN-FSA’s consent or authorisation must be requested for certain measures, such as outsourcing, changes to the rules, insurance portfolio transfers, and fit and proper reports.

Supervision of institutions for occupational retirement provision (IORPs) is mainly the responsibility of the FIN-FSA’s Employee Pensions Institutions division. The division has a total of nearly 200 supervised entities. The FIN-FSA also applies a risk-based approach to the allocation of supervision resources. In practice, this means that the size and operational risk level of the supervised entity are taken into consideration when deciding on supervision. Both quantitative indicators and qualitative assessments, for example of governance, including outsourcing, are taken into account when assessing the level of operational risk. The FIN-FSA regularly conducts stress tests in which it assesses the effects of changes in the investment environment on the financial situation of pension institutions. In the case of IORPs, stress tests are conducted at least once a year.

The FIN-FSA maintains contact with supervised entities, monitors reporting and otherwise targets supervision in accordance with risk-based principles. If information received about a supervised entity’s activities gives rise to questions, they are investigated. If shortcomings are significant, they are subjected to inspection. An inspection may also be based on something other than an observed shortcoming. The supervised entity is given written feedback on the outcome of the inspection.

Significant irregularities might lead to sanctions. Statutory sanctions are, as a rule, only imposed in connection with more serious offences. The FIN-FSA may also use other means of supervision to remedy observed shortcomings. The measures used must always be proportionate to the pursued objective. An inspection is the normal prerequisite for the initiation of a sanctioning process (with the exception of administrative fines for delays in reporting). With regard to sanctioning, the Director General’s Staff of the FIN-FSA plays a key role, in addition to the supervisory department. The motive for an inspection, however, is to clarify the issue in question and is not in itself aimed at sanctioning.

Investments
Data on financial data and solvency