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RESAVER Pension Fund
RESAVER Pension Fund was established in 2017 as a non-profit, pan-European occupational pension scheme created specifically for research-performing...
RESAVER Pension Fund
RESAVER Pension Fund was established in 2017 as a non-profit, pan-European occupational pension scheme created specifically for research-performing organizations and their employees. The European Commission provided foundational backing, enabling a multi-country, multi-employer structure that allows mobile and non-mobile researchers to maintain a single pension arrangement when moving between institutions or across borders within the European Economic Area. The fund pools contributions from participating research organizations and invests them through external asset managers selected via public procurement. Its investment strategy emphasizes ESG integration, with environmental, social, and governance funds described as an important component of the portfolio. The fund targets cost efficiency and transparency, operating without vesting periods or transfer-in/out fees — structural features intended to protect retirement balances for an academic workforce characterized by fixed-term contracts and international mobility. Geographic coverage spans the European Economic Area, with oversight by the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority alongside competent authorities in each country where the fund operates. RESAVER functions as a defined-contribution scheme administered through its digital platform, MyRESAVER, which supports multiple languages and paperless administration. The fund is open to all organizations employing at least one researcher, regardless of size, and covers all staff members — not only research personnel. The governance structure is jointly overseen by employer and employee representatives. RESAVER does not publicly disclose its assets under management or total deployment figures, in keeping with its posture as a non-commercial, institutionally backed vehicle. Structurally, RESAVER differs from a conventional single-country pension fund: it operates as a cross-border IORP (Institution for Occupational Retirement Provision) authorized in Belgium and passported across the EEA. This architecture — a single pension vehicle serving multiple unrelated employers across multiple jurisdictions — makes it a regulatory hybrid, not replicated at scale elsewhere in European research funding. Its design ties directly to the European Research Area policy goal of removing mobility penalties for researchers.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
2017
Location
Region
Europe
Country
Belgium
City
Brussels
Corporate office
Brussels, Belgium
Frequently asked questions
What problem does RESAVER solve that conventional pension funds do not?
Conventional occupational pension schemes are typically tied to a single employer in a single country, imposing vesting periods and transfer penalties when a researcher changes jobs or moves abroad. RESAVER eliminates vesting periods altogether and charges no transfer-in or transfer-out fees. The fund allows an employee to keep the same pension arrangement across multiple EEA-based research employers, preserving compounding and reducing administrative fragmentation.
Who can join RESAVER?
Any organization employing at least one researcher — ranging from universities and research institutes to small labs — located in the European Economic Area can participate. Once an organization joins, all staff members are eligible regardless of their contract type or job function, not only those classified as researchers.
How is RESAVER's investment strategy structured?
RESAVER does not manage assets internally. Investment mandates are awarded to external asset managers through public procurement processes, with the fund emphasizing ESG integration as a core component of its strategy. The fund pursues a defined-contribution model, meaning individual members bear investment risk within the selected fund options.
Which regulatory bodies oversee RESAVER?
RESAVER is authorized as an IORP in Belgium and is supervised by the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA). It is additionally subject to oversight by the competent national authorities in every EEA country where it operates, creating a multi-layered regulatory perimeter.
Is RESAVER a commercial pension provider?
No. RESAVER is structured as a non-profit organization with a transparent fee model and open governance. It was created with European Commission backing and is governed jointly by employer and employee representatives, operating without a profit motive or external shareholders.
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