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AMF board tells ex-CEO to repay pension

The board of AMF Pension said late Sunday night that they had been misled about the size of former CEO Christer Elmehagen’s pension and requested that he pay more than 20 million kronor ($2.4 million) back to the company.

Published: 30 March 2009 09:20 CEST
AMF board tells ex-CEO to repay pension

According to an investigation by auditors, Elmehagen and former deputy CEO Ingvar Skeberg violated company the loyalty that comes with such high-ranking positions when they chose to move their own pension savings out of AMF funds ahead of the company’s announcement that it planned to cut payments to pensioners.

After reviewing the auditors’ findings, the board of directors concluded that “payments to Christer Elmehagen’s pension…were too large and aren’t in line with the intentions of his employment agreement. How that could have happened is the subject of further investigation”.

In the statement, the board added that results of the probe would be known by the end of the week at the earliest.

“What’s clear, however, is that Christer Elmehagen’s pension was not managed and documented in a sufficiently clear manner,” the statement continued.

“The board looks very seriously on what has happened and how it has affected savers’ confidence in AMF. AMF is a well-managed company. It’s my decided opinion that the recent events have to do with specific individuals and don’t reflect AMF’s values,” said board chair Göran Tunhammar in the statement.

The sum to be repaid by Elmehagen also encompasses what he earned by moving is private pension savings before AMF’s announced pension payment cuts.

“This is a sad chapter in AMF’s history and now we’re working harder than ever so savers can continue to have confidence in us,” the company said.

The turn of events was welcome news for Wanja Lundby-Wedin, the embattled head of the Trade Union Confederation (LO), which is co-owner of AMF, along with the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise (Svenskt Näringsliv).

Last week, Lundby-Wedin fended off calls for her resignation amid accusations she had not fulfilled her oversight role as a member of the AMF board.

The report from the accountants, however, vindicated Lundby-Wedin’s defence that she and the board had been misled.

“I’m upset over what has now been revealed to have taken place behind the backs of those of us on the AMF board,” she said in a statement.

“We must look under every stone and get to the bottom of everything that has gone wrong in order to ensure that pension savers get back what belongs to them, that those responsible are held to account, and that something like this never happens again.”

But Lundby-Wedin’s urgent demand that Elmehagen repay up to 20 million kronor was immediately criticized by Urban Bäckström, head of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise.

“Wanja has gone out with figures which are the subject of an inquiry,” he told the TT news agency.

“We haven’t yet settled on a figure. I’m disappointed. This affects our ability to correct the mistakes. She can’t go out with figures when there’s no basis for them.”

Bäckström added that it’s clear that mistakes were made, but that the board must now defend the company.

ECONOMY

Pension reform, investment, new jobs – Macron unveils France’s post-Covid recovery plan

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a series of economic measures, looking beyond the pandemic, although the much-anticipated pensions reform will be delayed until Covid is "under control".

Published: 13 July 2021 11:00 CEST
Pension reform, investment, new jobs - Macron unveils France's post-Covid recovery plan
A nurse watches Macron's TV address on Monday. Photo: JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER / AFP.

Obligatory vaccines and the extension of the health pass made the headlines following Macron’s live TV address on Monday evening, but the President also sketched out his vision for France’s post-Covid economy.

Some of the measures he announced represent a return to the priorities he set at the beginning of his tenure, while others have been shaped by the pandemic.

Pension reform

There had been much speculation about a return of controversial plans to reform France’s retirement system, which were shelved at the start of the pandemic.

Macron confirmed that he planned to raise the retirement age – most people can currently retire at 62, but a number of ministers have been pushing to raise the legal minimum to 64.

READ ALSO France to tackle fourth Covid wave with stricter border controls, health passports and compulsory vaccines

“Because we are living longer, we will have to work longer, and retire later,” Macron said. “Not tomorrow, not brutally, and not in a uniform way because we will take the difficulty of a job into consideration.”

The government will begin consultations with workers and employers in September, but “will not undertake the reform so long as the epidemic is not under control and the recovery guaranteed,” Macron said.

This could mean his plans are not implemented before the presidential election in April 2022.

Macron also returned to a controversial point from the 2019 reform plan which lead to widespread protests: the abolition of the country’s 42 different pension regimes, which currently mean many public-sector workers can retire early. Under the new plans, these special regimes will be abolished for new employees, but people currently employed can keep the generous exceptions.

EXPLAINED: What are France’s special pension regimes?

The plan also includes a minimum pension of €1,000 per month after a full career. “A life of work must offer a dignified pension,” Macron said.

Unemployment reform

Changes to unemployment benefits will be “fully implemented” on October 1st. The reform was supposed to come into effect on July 1st, but in June, France’s Council of State decided to suspend certain elements regarding the way benefits are calculated.

“Uncertainties around the economic situation do not allow for implementing, at this moment, these new rules which are meant to support job stability by making benefits less attractive for workers alternating between short contracts and inactivity,” that decision stated.

“In France, you must earn a better living by working than by staying at home, which is currently not always the case,” Macron said on Tuesday.

From September, the government will also launch “a massive plan for the training and retraining of the long-term unemployed”.

“We have seen during this crisis the strength of our social model,” Macron said. “It’s a jewel we need to preserve. This social model rests on one foundation: work.”

Investment plan

During his address, Macron also emphasised the importance of economic sovereignty, and said an investment plan would be unveiled in the autumn following consultations this summer. The objective is “to build the France of 2030”, and to “reindustrialise, reconcile growth with ecological production”.

“We saw during this crisis the consequences of dependence,” Macron said, calling for French and European independence with regards to technology and primary resources.

Last month, the President announced a series of measures designed to stimulate French innovation in healthcare technology.

Support for young and old

Finally, Macron announced additional support for those who have been hardest hit by the pandemic – young people “who sacrificed so much even though there was little risk for themselves”, and elderly people “who more than others feared for their lives”.

In September, the government will unveil a new revenu d’engagement (commitment-based income) for young people not in education, employment or training. This “will be founded on rights and responsibilities”. This could resemble the garantie jeunes, a monthly benefit for 16 to 25-year-olds not in employment or training, created under François Hollande’s government.

For the older generation, Macron avoided specifics. “We owe them a great humanist ambition for independence, strengthened home care, modernised retirement homes,” he said.

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