The overall balance sheet total of Belgian institutions for occupational retirement provision (IORPs) increased last year by 13 per cent. This is the conclusion of the annual statistical overview prepared by the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA).
The FSMA is responsible for the supervision of IORPs, also known as pension funds. Every year, it publishes a summary of statistics regarding IORPs. The fourteenth edition of that statistical overview is now available.
The most important elements of the overview are as follows:
- At the end of 2023, Belgium had 150 IORPs governed by Belgian law, compared to 159 pension funds in 2022.
- Meanwhile, the number of members in IORPs rose by more than four per cent to 2.53 million.
The balance sheet total of all IORPs at the end of last year was 45.8 billion euros, a 13 per cent increase compared to the previous year. This increase came mainly due to the revival of financial markets after the poor performance as a result of the events in Ukraine and the resulting energy crisis in 2022.
Belgian IORPs invested a little more than three-quarters of their assets in undertakings for collective investment (UCIs), mostly in share and bond funds. Taking into account the underlying assets of these UCIs, IORPs invested, directly and indirectly, 49 per cent in bonds and 41 per cent in shares. The return on all investments at the end of 2023 stood at 8.9 per cent.
We refer to the press release 'Annual sectoral overview on supplementary pensions' for additional information on the second pillar (which includes all Belgian supplementary pensions managed by insurers and pension funds).
- At the end of 2023, the average coverage level was 119 per cent. It increased compared to 2022, mainly as a result of positive asset returns.
The coverage level indicates the volume of assets a pension fund has available to meet all its obligations. So, this represents a buffer of 19% compared to the conservative estimation of the liabilities.
In addition to the 2023 overview, the annual financial statements and some additional statistics at sectoral level are available on the FSMA’s website (available in French – Dutch only).