These statistics refer to the assets and liabilities of euro area pension funds (PFs) and the data currently cover end-of-quarter outstanding amounts, financial transactions and adjustments.
This dataset presents statistics collected under the new Regulation ECB/2018/2 on assets and liabilities of pension funds (PFs) which belong to the sector “pension funds (PFs)” in the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010).
The Regulation will remedy the shortcomings of the non-harmonised and incomplete quarterly statistics on pension funds collected so far, in particular the limited dissemination of transaction data due to insufficient data quality. The enhanced statistics will thus better support monetary and financial analyses, and contribute to the euro area financial accounts.
The previously published ICPF statistics are also available in the Statistical Data Warehouse for the reference periods Q1 2008 to Q2 2016, while PFs data collected under Guideline ECB/2014/15 are available from Q3 2016 to Q4 2019.
PFs resident in the territory of a euro area Member State form the reference reporting population
Euro Area
Pension funds belonging to the sector "pension funds (PFs)" in the ESA 2010
PFs submit to the NCBs the data that the NCBs require in accordance with Regulation ECB/2018/2. These in turn report national aggregates to the ECB.
These statistics are available as of reference period Q3 2019 for stocks, and Q1 2020 for transactions and other adjustments.
The previously published ICPF statistics are also available in the Statistical Data Warehouse for the reference periods Q1 2008 to Q2 2016, while PFs data collected under Guideline ECB/2014/15 are available from Q3 2016 to Q4 2019.
End of the period
Quarterly
For information about the naming convention (series key dimensions and metadata), refer to the PFBR underlying DSD (ECB_ICPF1) maintained by the ECB.
Balance sheet items of euro area pension funds.
Data are aggregated across the PF sector in each Member State by NCBs to derive national contributions to the euro area aggregated balance sheet of the PF sector.
No consolidation. Inter-PF positions are shown on the balance sheet.
Not adjusted
Validation is based on the verification of balance sheet constraints, and on checks on the plausibility of developments at various levels of aggregation.
The revisions policy and procedures set by the ECB and the relevant NCB must be followed.
PFBR - Euro Area Pension Funds Statistics
National central banks (NCBs) and ECB
Quality is ensured by means of a comprehensive legal framework included in the Regulation ECB/2018/2 on statistical reporting requirements for pension funds.
Minimum standards for accuracy:
(a) the statistical information must be correct: all linear constraints must be fulfilled (e.g. assets and liabilities must balance, subtotals must add up to totals);
(b) reporting agents must be able to provide information on the developments implied by the transmitted data;
(c) the statistical information must be complete and must not contain continuous and structural gaps; existing gaps should be acknowledged, explained to the relevant NCB and, where applicable, bridged as soon as possible;
(d) reporting agents must follow the dimensions, rounding policy and decimals set by the relevant NCB for the technical transmission of the data.
As mentioned in the legal documents, there is a phasing in period until 2022 for the balance sheet data reported on a quarterly basis. Currently the quarterly data are reported to the ECB by close of business on the 50th working day following the end of the quarter to which the data relate. As of reference period 2022, the data are reported to the ECB by close of business on the 80th working day following the end of the year to which the data relate.
See the release calendar for pension funds statistics in the euro area on the ECB’s website.
Statistical Data Warehouse (SDW) and ECB website
The framework for the collection of pension funds (PF) statistics is laid down in the ECB Regulation concerning statistics on the assets and liabilities of pension funds (ECB/2018/2).
Regulation ECB/2018/2 concerning statistical reporting requirements for pension funds
Download the series catalogue containing a full list of series and associated metadata of the dataset PFBR in CSV format (zipped)