The Belgian Pension Funds Association (BVPI-ABIP) is working on establishing an agency to promote itself as a pension centre to multinationals abroad, IPE has learnt.Philip Neyt, head of the BVPI, told IPE in an interview: “The idea is that multinationals who come to Belgium should have a direct point of reference.”
He added: “It will be an agency which does global coordination, a pension counter which does everything for you, ranging from the coordination with the Belgian pension regulator CBFA and the tax authorities.”
Neyt said the agency would closely liaise with the regulator, to give multinationals a regulatory overview and to measure what regulatory changes may need to be made, to make pensions accessible.
“I think Belgium would make systematic changes to the legislation if there is a call for such from multinationals,” said Neyt.
The previous government had agreed in principle on the proposals for the agency, but since Belgium still has no new government after its elections in June, the agency can only be established once a new government is in place.
According to Neyt, these proposals for a Belgian agency are not in response to the Dutch Holland Financial Centre (HFS) initiative set up earlier this year, to promote the Netherlands as a centre of financial excellence.