The event began with a presentation by Mr. Alexandros Sarrigeorgiou - Chairman of the Life, Health, Pensions & Bancassurance Committee at the Hellenic Association of Insurance Companies, and CEO of the EFG Eurolife Insurance Group - who outlined the general dissatisfaction that exists among people in Greece regarding to the future of their pensions, and the need for cooperation between the government, and the insurance and pensions market, as the only way for the survival of the pension system.
During the next talk, Mr. Platon Tinios, Assistant Professor at the University of Piraeus, cited the sustainability problems of the Greek pension system, and stressed the need for reforms to its structure in order to recover, and the need to help the Greek government find a solution for this difficult situation.
In the next presentation, Mr. Nikolaos Tessaromatis - Associate Professor of Finance at ALBA Business School, and CEO & CIO of EDEKT - mentioned that demographic changes have contributed significantly to the problems in the European pensions systems. He then presented several examples of reforms that have been carried out in the European Union, in order to restructure the system from the ground up. He also argued that a balanced and complementary coexistence of the public and private spheres in the pensions system, so as to be able to guarantee pensions and to set limits based on demographic changes.
The module discussing the "Second Pillar" began with a presentation by Mr. Jeroen Clicq, Deputy Secretary General of the EFRP (European Federation for Retirement Provision. Mr. Clicq presented the reforms and the initiatives (Green Paper) that the EU have made in order to reorganize the pensions system – namely the integration of all economic and political developments and policies in the market, based on the principle of supplementary pensions.
The importance of Pension Funds, and the relationship between private pensions and the second pillar as a factor of stability and growth, were analyzed in the panel discussion that followed, moderated by Mr. Nikolaos Travlos, Dean at ALBA Business School.
The discussion's participants were:
- Margarita Antonaki, General Manager, Hellenic Association of Insurance Companies (H.A.I.C.)
- Eric Kleijnen, CEO & Managing Director, AXA Asfalistiki
- Rovertos Spyropoulos, Governor, IKA
The participants reached the conclusion that it is very important for the public pension system to be integrated with Pension Funds, but clarified that tax incentives and conditions need to be set.
During Module C that dealt with the "Second Pillar" the presentation of Interamerican's Pension Fund by Mr. Andreas Panagiotou, Group Pension Business Manager at Interamerican, and Manager of Interamerican's Occupational Pension Fund, and a presentation of Hellenic Post's Pension Fund TEA-ELTA by Mr. Panagiotis Zampelis, Chairman of the Board of directors of TEA – ELTA, Chairman and Managing Director of Hewitt Associates (Greece) and President of the Hellenic Actuarial Society, took place. Both mentioned the improvement of the relationship between the company and its employees, and increases in their productivity after each fund was set up.
The event closed with a panel discussion titled "The third pillar in Greece: trends and dynamic" which was moderated by Mr. George Raounas, Partner at KPMG in Greece.
The discussion's participants were:
- Bram Boon, CEO, ING Greece
- Kostas Kouyoumoutzis, Life Branch Manager, Ethniki Asfalistiki
- Dimitris Mazarakis, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, MetLife Alico
The most important conclusion of the discussion was the importance of the private pensions system, by also adopting the right tax incentives. Finally it was stressed that except for the group insurance programs, group pension programs should also be launched by companies.