Law 24/2001 of 27 December 2001 on tax, administrative and social measures, Article 32 (18) of the Treaty authorises the Government to grant the Government, within 12 months of its entry into force, of the develop and approve a recast text of the Law on the Regulation of Pension Plans and Funds, in which the Law 8/1987 of 8 June, of Regulation of the Pension Plans and Funds, is integrated, duly regularized, clarified and systematized, and other provisions relating to pension plans and funds.

Law 30/1995, of 8 November, of the Management and Supervision of Private Insurance, in its additional provision eleventh, introduced amendments to various articles of Law 8/1987, added a new chapter IX to the same on measures for administrative intervention, and redrafted its additional and final provisions.

The fundamental part of the reform operated in Law 8/1987 by Law 30/1995 is the incorporation into the first provision of that of the regime of protection of the pension commitments of the companies with their workers, established in accordance with Article 8 of Council Directive 80 /987/EEC of 20 October 1980 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the protection of workers from the insolvency of the employer.

This additional provision of Law 8/1987, as amended by Article 1193 of Law 66/1997 of 30 December 1997, and by the additional provision of Law 50/1998 of 30 December 1998, both Acts of Measures fiscal, administrative and social order, is complemented by the transitional financial and fiscal regime of adaptation of the pension commitments provided for in the transitional provisions fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth of the Law 30/1995.

Law 14/2000 of 29 December, of fiscal, administrative and social order measures, amended Law 8/1987 on the requirements of own resources of the pension fund managing entities, and, recently, the Law 24/2001 itself, which authorizes the recasting, in its Article 32, has also introduced a number of amendments to Law 8/1987, of which, in particular, those affecting the regulation of the plans of the system of employment, facilitating the coordination of its operation with the representation processes and (i) negotiations in the field of employment, those relating to the annual ceilings for the provision of pension schemes, as well as those which deepen the freedom to provide the investment management services of pension funds in the (a) attention to the Community Directives, and the reporting obligations to members and beneficiaries of pension schemes.

The recast should also include, as ordered by the legislator, the financial regime applicable to persons with disabilities established by Law 40/1998 of 9 December of the Income Tax of the Physical Persons and other tax rules, in its 17th additional provision, duly updated, as amended by Article 12 of Law 6/2000 of 13 December, of urgent fiscal measures to stimulate family and family savings small and medium-sized enterprises, and Article 1, 11, of Law 24/2001 of 27 December.

Moreover, in order to ensure that the social partners involved in the process of externalisation of pension commitments can have a regulatory text that integrates the regulation of pension schemes and the aspects of the adaptation process, it is appropriate that the recast incorporates the content of the aforementioned transitional provisions fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth of Law 30/1995, duly updated, taking into account the amendments made to them by Law 66/1997 of 30 December 1997 on tax measures, administrative and social order (Articles 31 and 120.one and two), as well as by Law 40/1998, of 9 December, of the Income Tax of the Physical Persons and other tax rules (Additional provision 11th, first and second), and the deadline extended until 16 November 2002 for the additional twenty-fifth provision of Law 14/2000 of 29 December 2002 on fiscal, administrative and social order measures.

The regulation of the implementation of the pension commitments of the companies with the workers and beneficiaries, approved by Royal Decree 1588/1999, of October 15, develops this regime of externalization.

Without prejudice to the foregoing, the recast retains the reference to the first transitional provision of Law 8/1987, which allowed in its day the voluntary transformation of internal funds and other systems of forecasting of the staff of companies in pension schemes, since their effects may still affect processes initiated under the pension scheme. This provision was supplemented by the additional decision of the Law 39/1988 of 28 December 1988 on the Regulatory of Local Authorities.

On the other hand, for the purposes of systematising, clarifying or respecting the congruence of deadlines and normative references, in the recasting certain provisions that affect or refer to the regulation of the plans have to be taken into account of pensions, such as those contained in the final provisions of Law No 30/1995 of 8 November, and in the additional provision of Law 40/1998 of 9 December 1998 on the Income Tax of Physical Persons and other rules tax. Finally, although it is not included in this recast because it falls within the scope of the procedural rules, it is worth recalling the reference to this matter contained in the recast text of the Law on Labour Procedure, adopted by Royal Decree legislative 2/1995, of 7 April.

In its virtue, on the proposal of the Second Vice President of the Government and Minister of Economy, according to the Council of State and after deliberation of the Council of Ministers at its meeting of the day of November 29, 2002,

D I S P O N G O:

Single item. Approval of the recast of the Law on the Regulation of Pension Plans and Funds.

The recast text of the Pension Funds and Plans Regulation Act is approved and inserted below.

Single repeal provision. Repealed rules.

As many provisions of equal or lower rank are repealed, they are opposed to the provisions of the recast text of the Law on the Regulation of Pension Plans and Funds that is approved.

Law 8/1987, of 8 June, of Regulation of Pension Plans and Funds, is repealed, without prejudice to the provisions of the first transitional provision of the recast text to be adopted.

The additional eleventh and transitional provisions fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth of Law 30/1995, of 8 November, of the Management and Supervision of Private Insurance, of 8 November 1995, are hereby repealed. updated content is incorporated into the recast text that is approved.

Single end disposition. Entry into force.

This Royal Legislative Decree and the recast text it approves will enter into force the day after its publication in the "Official State Gazette".

Given in Madrid on November 29, 2002.

JOHN CARLOS R.

The Second Vice President of the Government for Economic Affairs and Minister of Economy,

RODRIGO DE RATO Y FIGAREDO

RECAST TEXT OF THE REGULATION OF PENSION PLANS AND FUNDS ACT

CHAPTER I

General provisions

Article 1. Nature of the pension plans.

1. Pension schemes define the right of persons to whom they are entitled to receive income or capital by retirement, survival, widower, orphan or invalidity, the obligations to make contributions to them and, to the extent permitted by this Law, the rules of the constitution and the functioning of the patrimony which, in compliance with the rights it recognizes, must be affected.

2. Their benefits shall not, in any case, be replaced by the provisions of the corresponding social security scheme, having, as a result, a private and complementary nature or not of those provisions.

The denomination of "pension plans", as well as its acronym, is reserved for the plans regulated by this Law.

Article 2. Nature of pension funds.

Pension funds are assets created for the sole purpose of fulfilling pension plans, the management, custody and control of which shall be carried out in accordance with this Law.

Article 3. Promoting entities, participants and beneficiaries.

1. They are constituents of pension schemes:

(a) The promoter of the plan: any entity, corporation, company, company, association, union or collective of any kind that would urge its creation or participate in its development have such consideration.

b) The participants: the physical persons in whose interest the plan is created have this consideration, regardless of whether they make contributions or not.

2. Personal elements of a pension plan are the constituent subjects and beneficiaries, understood by such individuals with the right to the perception of benefits, whether or not they have been involved.

3. The legal persons who insta and, where appropriate, participate in the constitution of the pension funds are the promoters of the pension funds in the terms provided for in this Law.

Article 4. Modalities of pension plans.

1. As a result of the constituent subjects, pension plans subject to this Law will necessarily be covered by one of the following:

(a) Employment system: corresponds to plans whose promoter is any entity, corporation, company or company and whose members are the employees of the same.

In the plans of this system the promoter can only be one, to which only the employees of the promoter company, including the staff with special employment relationship, will be able to join as members irrespective of the applicable social security scheme. The condition of members may also be extended to the working and working partners in the employment plans promoted in the field of cooperative and labour societies, in the terms that are regulated.

Likewise, the individual employer who employs workers under employment relationship may promote a pension scheme for the employment system in the interest of the latter, in which he may also be included as a participant.

A number of companies or entities may jointly promote an employment pension scheme in which they may implement the commitments that may be covered by the scheme. The regulation of pension plans will be adapted to the specific characteristics of these plans jointly promoted, while respecting the basic principles and characteristics laid down in this Law.

Specific conditions for these joint promotion pension schemes may be established when they are set up by companies in the same group, by small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as by several companies. that they have pension commitments under a collective bargaining agreement at a higher level than the enterprise.

Within the same pension plan of the employment system, the existence of subplans will be admissible, even if these are different modalities or articulate different contributions and benefits in each one. The integration of the workers 'or employees' collective into each sub-plan and the diversification of the promoter's contributions shall be made in accordance with criteria established by collective agreement or equivalent arrangement or as intended in the specifications of the pension plan.

Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 1 (2) of this Law, where the incorporation of workers directly into the pension scheme has been established in the collective agreement, the following shall be read: unless, within the period agreed to that effect, they expressly declare in writing to the sponsoring or control committee of the plan that they wish not to be incorporated into it. The foregoing shall be without prejudice to the fact that, where appropriate, the agreement conditions the obligations of the undertaking with the employees to the incorporation of the latter into the pension scheme.

b) Associated system: it corresponds to plans whose promoter or promoters are any associations or unions, being the members their associates, members or affiliates.

(c) Individual system: corresponds to plans whose promoter is one or more entities of a financial character and whose members are any natural persons.

2. For the purpose of the obligations laid down, the pension plans shall be in accordance with

following procedures:

a) Defined benefit plans, in which the amount of benefits to be perceived by the beneficiaries is defined as the object.

(b) Defined contribution plans, in which the defined object is the amount of the promoters ' contributions and, where applicable, the contributions to the plan.

(c) Mixed plans, the purpose of which is, at the same time, the amount of the benefit and the amount of the contribution.

3. The plans of the employment and associated systems may be of any of the three previous modes and those of the individual system only of the defined contribution mode.

Specific conditions may be determined for the promotion of joint promotion pension schemes for mixed or defined benefit arrangements.

CHAPTER II

Principles and arrangements for the organisation of pension schemes

Article 5. Basic principles of pension schemes.

1. Pension plans must meet each of the following basic principles:

(a) Non-discrimination: access should be ensured as a participant in a plan to any natural person who fulfils the conditions of engagement or contracting capacity with the promoter that characterises each type of contract.

In particular:

1. A plan of the employment system shall be non-discriminatory when all the staff employed by the sponsor are in or under the conditions of the scheme, without which an age of more than two years may be required. to access that. Any plan of the employment system may provide for access with an age of less than two years or from entry into the sponsor's template.

2. The non-discrimination in access to the plan of the employment system shall be compatible with the differentiation of the promoter's contributions corresponding to each participant, according to criteria derived from collective agreement or arrangement equivalent or set in the plan specifications.

3. A plan of the associated system shall be non-discriminatory when all the partners of the sponsoring entity or entities are able to access the plan on equal terms and conditions.

4. A plan of the individual system shall be non-discriminatory when any person who manifests the will of accession and has the capacity to be bound can do so in the contractual terms stipulated for any of the Members attached.

b) Capitalization: pension plans will be implemented through financial and actuarial systems of capitalization. Consequently, the benefits shall be strictly adjusted to the calculation derived from such systems. The typology of the capitalization systems and their conditions of application shall be defined, with the exception of the provision of additional capital reserves to ensure the viability of the plan.

(c) Irrevocability of contributions: the contributions of the sponsor of the pension plans shall be irrevocable.

(d) Attribution of rights: the contributions of the members to the pension schemes determine for the aforementioned members the rights referred to in Article 8 of this Law.

(e) Compulsory integration: compulsory integration into a pension fund, in the terms set out in this Law, of the economic contributions to which the promoters and participants are obliged and any other goods attached to a plan.

2. Exclusively, pension schemes that meet the requirements contained in this Law will be able to access the financial and tax regimes provided for in this Act.

3. The maximum annual contributions to the pension schemes covered by this Law shall be in line with the following:

(a) The total of the maximum annual contributions to the pension schemes covered by this Law, excluding the business contributions which the promoters of employment pension schemes impute to the unit-holders, will not be able to exceed EUR 7,212,15.

However, in the case of participants over fifty-two years, the above limit will be increased by an additional EUR 1,202,02 for each year of the participant's age in excess of fifty-two years, with a fixed amount of EUR 22,838,46 for participants of sixty-five years or more.

(b) The aggregate of the business contributions made by the promoters of employment pension schemes in favour of their employees and imputed to them shall have as a maximum annual limit the amounts set out in the paragraph (a) above.

Individual employers who make business contributions in favour of their employees, as promoters of an employment pension scheme, will be able to make their own contributions to the scheme up to the maximum limit established for business contributions. These contributions shall not be qualified as business contributions, except for the purposes of calculating limits.

(c) The limits set out in paragraphs (a) and (b) above shall be applied independently and individually to each integrated participant in the family unit.

(d) Exceptionally, the sponsoring undertaking may make contributions in favour of the beneficiaries of an occupational pension scheme where it is necessary to ensure the ongoing benefits and has been revealed, through of the actuarial revisions, the existence of a deficit in the pension plan.

4. Pension plans will end with the following causes:

a) For failing to comply with the basic principles set out in paragraph 1 of this article.

b) By the cessation of their control commission, in such a way as to render it impossible to function, in terms to be regulated.

(c) Where the pension scheme has not been able to meet within the prescribed period the measures provided for in a reorganisation or financing plan required under Article 34 of this Law or, where it has been required to draw up such plans, do not apply to their formulation.

(d) For the obvious impossibility of carrying out the necessary variations resulting from the revision of the plan within the meaning of Article 9 (5).

e) By the absence of participants and beneficiaries in the pension plan for a period of more than one year.

f) By dissolution of the pension plan promoter.

However, unless otherwise agreed, the termination of the pension plan shall not cause the dissolution of the promoter by merger or global transfer of the assets, subrogating the resulting entity or transferee in the condition of promoter of the pension scheme. In the event of the dissolution of the entity promoting a pension scheme of the individual system, the fund control committee or, failing that, the managing body may accept the replacement of that institution by another entity.

If, as a result of company operations, a single entity is a promoter of several pension schemes in the employment system, all unit-holders and their rights will be integrated into a single pension scheme. consolidated, and where applicable to the beneficiaries, within 12 months of the date of effect of the corporate operation.

g) For any other cause set out in the pension plan specifications.

The settlement of the pension plans will be in accordance with the provisions of its specifications which, in any case, must respect the individual guarantee of the benefits caused and provide for the integration of the rights the consolidated members and, where appropriate, the rights deriving from the benefits arising from the plan, in other pension schemes. In the plans of the employment system, the integration of the consolidated rights of the unit-holders shall be made, where appropriate, in the plan or plans of the employment system in which the members may be able to hold such a condition.

Article 6. Specifications of pension plans.

1. The pension plans must necessarily specify the following aspects:

a) Determination of the personal scope of the plan, as well as its modality, in accordance with the provisions of Article 4 of this Law.

(b) Rules for the establishment and functioning of the control committee of the plan in the case of occupational and associated pension schemes.

c) System of financing, in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

d) Admembership to a pension fund, constituted or to constitute, as regulated in this standard.

(e) Definition of the benefits and rules for determining the amount of benefits, indicating whether or not the benefits are revalued and, where applicable, the form of revaluation. The criteria and arrangements for the differentiation of contributions and benefits shall also be specified where appropriate.

Pension plans which provide for benefits defined for all or any of the contingencies or benefits caused must incorporate, as an annex to the specifications, a technical basis drawn up by actuary with the content and requirements set out by the Ministry of Economy.

(f) Rights and obligations of members and beneficiaries, covered contingencies, as well as, where appropriate, the age and circumstances that generate the right to the benefits, form and conditions of such benefits.

The specifications shall provide for the documentation to be received by the participant at the time of the plan's accession and the periodic information that it will receive in accordance with the provisions of this Law and its implementing rules.

g) Causes and circumstances that empower members to modify or suspend their contributions and their rights and obligations in each case.

h) Rules concerning the ups and downs of unit-holders.

i) Requirements for the modification of the plan and procedures to be followed for the adoption of agreements in this respect.

j) Plan termination causes and rules for settlement.

2. They shall also provide for the procedure for the transfer of the consolidated rights corresponding to the participant who, for the purposes of collective or other work, changes his or her membership of a pension scheme, in accordance with the provisions of the Law.

3. The amendment of the specifications of the pension plans of the associated system and of employment may be carried out by means of the procedures and arrangements provided for in those plans. The amendment agreement may be adopted by the control committee of the plan with the majority regime set out in the specifications.

However, in the pension schemes of the employment system, the specifications may provide for the modification of the benefits and contributions arrangements or any other extremes, and in their case the consequent adjustment of the the technical basis can be agreed, as provided for in this standard, by collective agreement between the company and the representation of the employees.

The specifications of the pension plans of the individual system may be modified by agreement of the sponsor, after communication by the sponsor or by the relevant managing body or depositary, at least one month in advance to participants and beneficiaries.

Article 7. The pension plan control committee and the advocate of the participant.

1. The operation and implementation of each pension scheme of the employment system shall be supervised by a control committee set up for this purpose. The control committee of the plan shall have the following functions:

a) Oversee compliance with the plan clauses in all that relates to the rights of their members and beneficiaries.

b) Select the actuary or actuaries to certify the situation and dynamics of the plan.

(c) Name the representatives of the control committee of the plan in the control committee of the pension fund to which it is attached.

(d) Propose and, where appropriate, decide on the other questions on which this Law confers jurisdiction on you.

e) Judicial and extrajudicial refiling the interests of the members and beneficiaries in connection with the pension plan.

2. The control committee for the employment pension scheme shall be composed of representatives of the sponsor or promoters and representatives of the members and, where appropriate, the beneficiaries. The representatives of the members may be represented by the beneficiaries of the pension scheme.

The pension schemes of the employment system may provide for the specific representation in the control of the unit-holders, and in their case of the beneficiaries, of each of the subplans defined within it. plan.

In the joint promotion employment pension schemes, systems of joint or aggregate representation may be established in the control commission of the promoters, unit-holders and beneficiaries, respectively.

In the pension plans of the employment system, procedures for the direct designation of the members of the control commission by the negotiating commission of the agreement, and/or the designation of the representatives of the members and beneficiaries by agreement of the majority of the employees ' representatives in the company. In addition, in the plans for joint promotion employment pensions established under collective bargaining agreements with a supra-business area, procedures for the appointment of the control committee by the Commission may be provided for. negotiating and/or by the representation of undertakings and workers in this field. The designation of the representatives in the control committee may coincide with all or part of the components of the special negotiating body or representatives of the parties concerned.

The decisions of the control committee of the plan shall be adopted in accordance with the majorities stipulated in the specifications of the plan, and it is permissible for those specifications to provide for qualified majorities.

Regulations may be regulated for the appointment or election of members of the control committees for employment plans, conditions and percentages of representation and conditions may be laid down. of the same in development as provided for in this Law.

When in the development of a plan it will be uninvolved, the representation of them will correspond to the beneficiaries.

3. In the pension schemes of the employment system, the representation of the personal elements in the control committee shall be in accordance with the following criteria:

a) In general, the representation of the promoters will be equal (50 percent).

b) Where the pension plan is a defined contribution for the retirement contingency, decisions affecting the investment policy of the pension fund shall include at least the favourable vote of half of the pension funds. representatives of the members of the control committee.

(c) In the pension plans of the defined or mixed benefit mode, decisions affecting the economic cost assumed by the undertaking of the defined benefits shall include at least the favourable vote of half of the representatives of the sponsor or promoters.

The regime and conditions of representation may be developed.

4. The functioning and implementation of each pension scheme of the associated system shall be supervised by a control commission which shall have the functions provided for in paragraph 1 above and shall consist of representatives of the sponsor or promoters and participants and, where appropriate, the beneficiaries of the plan. If the plan is uninvolved, the representation attributed to them shall be the responsibility of the beneficiaries.

In the control commission of an associated plan, the majority of its members, regardless of the representation they have, must be composed of associate members or affiliates of the sponsoring entity.

The specifications of an associated pension plan must provide for the system of designation or election of the members of the control commission, with the possibility to provide for the designation by the governing bodies or assembly members. of the sponsoring entity. The appointment of the representatives in the control committee may be made by members of these bodies.

Regulations may be regulated for the designation or election of members of the control committees of the associated plans, conditions and percentages of representation and conditions may be established of the same in development as provided for in this Law.

5. The pension plans of the individual system shall not constitute a control commission for the plan, corresponding to the promoter of the functions and responsibilities assigned to that commission in this Law.

In the pension plans of this system, the defender of the participant must be appointed, who will also be of the beneficiaries.

The entities that promote these pension plans, either individually or grouped by the same group, territorial scope or any other criteria, must designate as an advocate for the participation of entities or independent experts of recognised standing, whose decision shall be subject to complaints made by members and beneficiaries or their successors in title against the managing or depository institutions of the pension funds in which they are integrated the plans or against the own entities promoting the individual plans.

The decision of the advocate for the benefit of the claim will bind those entities. This linkage shall not preclude the completeness of judicial protection, the use of other mechanisms for the settlement of disputes or arbitration, nor the exercise of control and administrative oversight functions.

The sponsor of the individual pension scheme, or the managing body of the pension fund in which it is integrated, shall communicate to the Directorate-General for Insurance and Pension Funds the appointment of the participant's and his/her acceptance, as well as the rules of procedure and time limit laid down for the resolution of complaints which, in no case, may exceed two months from the submission of those claims.

The expenses of designation, operation and remuneration of the advocate of the participant shall in no case be borne by the claimants or by the corresponding pension plans and funds.

The provisions of this paragraph shall be without prejudice to the application of the provisions of the specific rules on the protection of customers of financial services in their case.

CHAPTER III

Financial arrangements for pension plans

Article 8. Contributions and benefits.

1. Pension schemes shall be implemented through financial systems and capitalisation actuarial schemes that allow for the establishment of an equivalence between contributions and future benefits to beneficiaries.

Such financial and actuarial systems should involve the formation of capitalization funds, mathematical provisions and other sufficient technical provisions for the set of pension plan commitments.

In any case, a solvency margin must be established by means of the necessary reserves to compensate for any deviations that could be presented for any reason.

The rules of incorporation and calculation of capitalization, technical provisions and solvency margin funds shall be established in the Regulation of this Law.

2. The plan may provide for the procurement of insurance, endorsements and other guarantees with the relevant financial institutions for the coverage of certain risks or the assurance or guarantee of benefits.

3. The contributions or contributions shall be made by the sponsor or promoters and by the members, respectively, in the cases and form which, in accordance with this Law, establishes the respective pension plan, determining and carrying out the performance according to the rules contained in it.

4. The ownership of the property resources affected by each plan shall be the responsibility of the members and beneficiaries.

5. In accordance with the provisions of each pension scheme, the benefits may be, in the terms that are determined by regulation:

a) Provision in the form of capital, consisting of a single payment perception.

b) Prstation in the form of rent.

c) Mixed benefits, which combine rents of any kind with a single collection in the form of capital.

6. The contingencies for which the above benefits will be met may be:

a) Retirement: for the determination of this contingency will be provided for in the corresponding Social Security Regime.

Where the access of a participant to retirement is not possible, the contingency shall be deemed to be produced from the ordinary retirement age in the General Social Security Scheme, at the time when the participant does not participate. exercise or have ceased work or professional activity, and are not listed for the retirement contingency for any social security scheme. However, the perception of the relevant provision from the age of 60 may be anticipated in the terms to be established in a regulated manner.

Pension plans may provide for the payment of the pension benefit in the event that the person concerned, regardless of age, is able to pay out his or her employment relationship and to become unemployed as a result of the pension. the employment regulation file approved by the labour authority. Conditions may be laid down for the maintenance or resumption of contributions to pension schemes in this case.

From access to retirement, contributions to pension plans can only be used for the death contingency. The same scheme shall apply, where access to retirement is not possible, to contributions made on the basis of the ordinary retirement age or on the basis of the anticipated recovery of the relevant benefit. The conditions under which the contributions for retirement may be resumed on the basis of a subsequent discharge in a social security scheme or a resumption of activity may be laid down.

The provisions of this subparagraph (a) shall be without prejudice to the contributions to beneficiaries by the promoters of the pension schemes of the employment system under the provisions of paragraph 3 of the Article 5 of this Act.

(b) Total and permanent employment for the usual or absolute and permanent occupation for all work, and the great invalidity, determined in accordance with the corresponding Social Security Scheme.

Reglamentarily the fate of contributions for contingencies that may occur in those situations may be regulated.

c) Death of the participant or beneficiary, which may generate entitlement to benefits of widower, orphan's or to other heirs or designated persons.

For the purposes of the provision of the additional provision of this Law, the contingencies to be used under the conditions laid down in this Law shall be those of retirement, incapacity and death provided for in this Act. respectively in paragraphs (a) (b) and (c) above.

The undertakings given by the companies to the employees who are extingtheir employment relationship with those who are legally unemployed as a result of a record of employment regulation, which consist of the payment of the benefits before retirement, may be subject to implementation, on a voluntary basis, in accordance with the scheme provided for in the first provision of this Law, in which case they shall be subject to financial and tax rules. derived from this.

7. They are consolidated rights by members of a pension scheme as follows:

(a) In the defined contribution pension plans, the share that corresponds to the participant, determined on the basis of contributions, returns and expenses.

b) In the defined benefit plans, the reservation that corresponds to you according to the actuarial system used.

8. Unit-holders may only make their consolidated rights effective in the case of long-term unemployment or serious illness.

These situations will be determined, as well as the terms and conditions under which the consolidated rights may be effective in such cases. In any event, the amounts collected in these situations will be subject to the tax regime established by the Law for the benefits of pension schemes.

The consolidated rights in the pension plans of the associated and individual system may be mobilised to another pension plan or plans by unilateral decision of the participant or by loss of the promoter's associated condition in an associated system pension plan or termination of the plan.

The economic rights of beneficiaries in the pension plans of the individual and associated system may also be mobilised for other pension schemes at the request of the beneficiary, provided the conditions of guarantee and the insurance of the benefit so permit and under the conditions laid down in the specifications of the corresponding pension schemes. This mobilization will not change the mode and conditions of collection of benefits.

However, the consolidated rights of the members of the pension scheme of the employment system shall not be mobilised for other pension schemes, except in the case of the termination of the employment relationship and the conditions that they are regulated, and only if provided for in the plan's specifications, or by termination of the pension plan. The economic rights of the beneficiaries in the employment plans shall not be mobilised, except for the termination of the pension scheme.

The consolidated rights of the participant in a pension scheme may not be the subject of an attachment, judicial or administrative action, until such time as the right to the benefit is caused or that they are effective in the case of the alleged of severe illness or long-term unemployment.

9. Certificates of belonging to the pension plans shall be issued at the request of the unit-holders, which shall in no case be transmissible.

10. The benefits of the pension schemes must be paid to the beneficiary or beneficiaries provided for or designated, except in the case of a judicial or administrative action, in which case the order of the beneficiary is subject to the provisions of the corresponding

Article 9. Approval and review of pension plans.

1. The sponsor of the pension scheme shall draw up the initial draft of the plan, which shall include the specifications referred to in Article 6 of this Law.

(a) In the employment system, once the project has been drawn up, the establishment of a promoting commission shall be established with the representation of the promoter or promoters and of the workers or potential participants.

This commission shall be formed and operate in accordance with the provisions of Article 7 for the control committee of a pension plan, with the adaptations to be provided for in regulation.

For the pension plans of the employment system, procedures for the direct designation of the members of the sponsoring commission by the negotiating commission of the agreement, or the designation of the members, may be established. employee representatives by agreement of the majority of the employees ' representatives in the company.

By collective agreement of a supra-business scope, the initial project of a pension plan of the joint promotion employment system may be established for the companies included in their scope, and may be designated as The Commission is directly responsible for the negotiation of the Convention or, failing that, for the representation of undertakings and workers in the field of business.

(b) In the case of the pension plans of the individual and associated system, it shall be the sponsoring entities who shall adopt the agreements and shall exercise the functions assigned by this regulation to the commission promoting the plans of the pensions of the employment system.

2. The sponsoring commission may adopt the agreements it deems appropriate to finalise and implement the content of the project and shall seek, except in the defined contribution plans which do not provide for the possibility of granting any guarantee to members or beneficiaries, the opinion of an actuary on the adequacy of the financial and actuarial system of the final pension plan resulting from the negotiation process. The said project must be adopted by agreement of the parties present in the promoter commission.

Obtained the favorable opinion, the promoter commission will proceed to the presentation of the referred project to the pension fund in which it intends to integrate.

3. In the light of the draft pension plan, the pension fund or, as the case may be, the managing body of the pension plan, shall, where appropriate, adopt the plan's admission agreement in order to understand, under its responsibility, that the requirements are met. established in this Law, communicating it to the sponsoring commission or, failing that, to the promoter of the plan.

4. In the case of the previous communication, the incorporation of the plan of participants may be effective, with the commission promoting a plan of employment or the promoter of an associated plan to urge the establishment of the relevant control commission of the plan. within the time limits and conditions to be laid down.

As long as the control commission is not constituted, the functions attributed to it by this Law shall correspond to the sponsoring commission or to the promoter of the associated plan in his case.

By virtue of the agreement adopted by the company with the employees ' representatives in the company, the sponsoring commission, once the pension plan of the employment system has been formalized, will be able to directly carry out the incorporation into the of the members and, where appropriate, of the beneficiaries, the time limit for those who do not wish to join the plan to be notified in writing. The subscription of individual or collective documents of accession to the scheme of the employment system by virtue of the express delegation granted by the members shall also be admissible.

The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall be without prejudice to the fact that, where appropriate, the collective agreement or equivalent provision establishing the pension commitments conditions the obligation of the undertaking to its implementation through a plan of the employment system, or of the actions and rights to be exercised in the event of discrepancy or inadequate information on the processes of incorporation into the plan.

Specific conditions may be laid down for the incorporation of personal elements into the pension plans and requirements of the accession documents, as well as special rules for the plans of joint promotion employment pensions.

5. The financial and actuarial system of the plans shall be reviewed at least every three years by independent actuary appointed by the control commission, with the express and exclusive charge of carrying out the actuarial review. If, as a result of the review, the need or desirability of changes in contributions and contributions, in the provided benefits, or in other aspects with an impact on financial and actuarial development, is raised, submit to the control committee the plan to propose or agree on what it deems appropriate, in accordance with Article 6 (1) (i).

The content and scope of the actuarial review will be determined, as well as the functions of the actuary to which the review is entrusted and which will necessarily have to be different from the actuary or actuary. which, where appropriate, intervene in the ordinary development of the pension scheme.

In the defined contribution plans that do not provide any guarantee to members or beneficiaries, the actuarial review may be replaced by an economic financial report issued by the managing body and included in the accounts. audited annual content, with the content that is regulated.

6. The approval and review of the pension schemes of the employment system promoted by small and medium-sized enterprises shall be governed by specific rules laid down in regulation, in accordance with the following bases:

(a) In determining the scope of application, account should be taken of the modality of these plans, the number of employees, the annual turnover and the total number of assets of the companies concerned.

(b) The registration procedure in the business registers, as well as the actuarial opinion and revision, of these pension plans may be adapted to the special characteristics of these. The actuarial opinion and review may not be enforceable in certain cases.

(c) They will have a reduction of 30 percent for the rights that the Notaries and Registrars will have for the implementation of their respective duties for the businesses, acts and documents necessary for the processing of the registration, appointment and termination of the members of the control and mobilisation commission of these pension schemes.

Article 10. Integration into the pension fund.

1. For the implementation of a pension plan, the economic contributions to which the promoters and the participants of the plan would be obliged will be integrated immediately and necessarily into an account of the plan's position in the pension fund, with (a) a charge to which the performance of the plan shall be fulfilled. This account shall also include income from the investments of the pension fund which, in the terms of this Act, are allocated to the plan.

2. The conditions under which the relationship between the plan and the pension fund, and in particular the transfer of the plan's position account from one pension fund to another, as well as the pension fund, will be fixed. settlement of the plan.

The conditions and conditions under which the control commission of a pension scheme of the employment system attached to a fund can channel resources from its position account to other funds may be established. of pensions or of several, managed, where appropriate, by different management entities.

3. The pension plan monitoring commission shall monitor the adequacy of the balance of the plan's position account with the requirements of the financial regime of the plan.

4. The pension schemes of the employment system shall necessarily be integrated into pension funds whose scope of action is limited to the development of pension schemes for that system.

CHAPTER IV

Constitution and arrangements for the organisation of pension funds

Article 11. Constitution of pension funds.

1. The pension funds shall be constituted, after administrative authorization by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, in public deed granted by the sponsoring entity and shall be entered in the special administrative register which is established and in the Merchant Record.

They shall be of legal personality and shall be administered and represented in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

2. The writing of the constitution shall necessarily contain the following particulars:

a) The name or social reason and address of the entity or sponsoring entities.

(b) The name or social reason and the domicile of the managing and depository entities and the identification of persons exercising the administration and representation of those entities.

(c) The name of the fund, which must be followed, in any case, by the expression "pension fund".

d) The object of the fund under this Law.

e) The operating rules, which they will specify, at least:

1. The scope of the background.

2. The procedure for the election and renewal and the duration of the mandate of the members of the control committee of the fund, as well as the functioning of the fund.

3. The investment policy of the resources contributed to the fund.

4. The criteria for imputation of results, in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

5. The actuarial systems that can be used in the execution of pension plans.

6. The maximum commission to be satisfied with the managing body, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 20 (4) of this Law.

7. The rules for the distribution of operating expenses referred to in Article 14 (6) of this Law.

8. The requirements for the modification of the operating rules and for the replacement of the managing and depository entities. In no case shall the replacement be operated without the prior agreement of the commission, or the subcommittees, of control of the pension fund, except as provided for in Article 23 of this Law.

9. The rules governing the dissolution and liquidation of the fund.

3. Prior to the formation of the fund, the promoters must obtain authorization from the Ministry of Economy, whose terms will be accommodated, if any, the writing of the constitution. The granting of the authorization in no case may be a title that causes the responsibility of the State Administration.

4. Obtained the prior administrative authorization, in the Mercantile Register, a sheet of registration shall be opened to each fund, in which it shall be the first seat corresponding to the writing of the constitution and shall contain the ends which it must express, applying the rules governing the Trade Register.

5. The Ministry of Economy will create the Administrative Register of Pension Funds and the Ministry of the Management of Pension Funds. The pension funds shall necessarily be entered in the Administrative Register, which shall include the writing of the constitution and subsequent amendments authorised in the manner provided for in this Article. In addition, the pension scheme or plans must be included in the plan or pension schemes affected by each pension fund, as well as the successive incidents affecting them.

6. The name of "pension funds", as well as their initials, shall be reserved to those established in accordance with this Law.

7. Registration in the administrative register requires the prior fulfilment of all other requirements of the constitution.

8. Pension funds may be set up to implement a single pension scheme.

9. Pension funds may be covered within two types:

a) Open fund, characterized by being able to channel investments from other pension funds.

b) Closed fund, exclusively implements the investments of the plan or pension plans integrated into it.

10. In the case of pension funds which comprise defined benefit pension schemes and open pension funds, the establishment of a minimum initial estate may be required, according to levels laid down in law on the basis of the guarantees. required for proper financial development.

Article 12. Responsibility.

1. The creditors of the pension funds will not be able to make effective their claims on the assets of the promoters of the plans and the unit-holders, whose liability is limited to their respective commitments to contribute to their pension plans. Pensions attached.

2. The equity of the funds shall not be liable for the debts of the sponsoring, managing and depository entities.

Article 13. Administration of pension funds.

Pension funds shall be administered with the limitations set out in Article 14 by a management entity with the contest of a depositary and under the supervision of a control commission in the form that Regulation is determined.

Article 14. Pension fund control commission.

1. The pension funds shall be set up as a control committee for the fund, the composition of which shall be in accordance with the following conditions

(a) In the case of pension funds that integrate pension schemes in the employment system, they may only integrate plans in this way.

If the same fund implements several occupational pension schemes, its control committee may be formed with representatives of each of the plans or through a joint representation of the pension plans integrated into the same.

If the fund integrates a single employment pension plan, the plan control commission will exercise the functions of the fund's control commission.

(b) In pension funds other than those referred to in subparagraph (a) above, the control commission shall be formed with representatives of each of the plans attached to it.

In the case of pension plans of the associated system these representatives will be appointed by the respective commissions of control of the plans. If the fund integrates a single plan of the partner system, the plan control commission shall exercise the control commission of the fund.

In the case of the plans of the individual system these representatives will be appointed by the respective entities promoting the plans. To this end, if between the plans attached to the fund there are two or more plans of the individual system promoted by the same sponsoring entity, it may designate a joint representation of those plans in the control committee of the fund.

If the fund integrates exclusively one or more individual system plans promoted by the same entity, the constitution of a control committee of the fund will not be required, corresponding to the promoter of the plan or plans the roles and responsibilities assigned by this regulation to that committee.

2. The functions of the pension fund control commission are, among others:

a) Monitoring compliance with the plans attached.

b) Control of compliance with the rules of operation, the fund itself and the plans.

(c) Appointment of experts whose performance is required by this Law, without prejudice to the powers provided for within each pension scheme.

(d) Proposal and, where appropriate, decision on the other matters on which this Law confers jurisdiction on it.

You may collect from the managing body and deposit the information that is relevant to the performance of your duties.

e) Representation of the fund, being able to delegate to the managing body for the exercise of its functions.

f) Review and approval of the management of the managing body in each financial year, requiring, where appropriate, the liability provided for in Article 22 of this Law.

g) Replacing the managing body or depository, as provided for in Article 23.

h) Suspension of the execution of acts and agreements contrary to the interests of the fund.

i) Where appropriate, approval of the integration into the fund of new pension plans.

3. For reasons of heterogeneity in the types of pension schemes attached to or in the same fund, the constitution, within the control committee, of subcommittees which operate according to the homogeneous areas of plans or plans, may be arbitrated. according to investment modalities.

4. The voice charge of a commission will be temporary and free. The rules for the operation of the fund shall include the procedure for the election and renewal of its members, the duration of its term of office, as well as the cases and ways in which the committee on the control of the fund is to meet.

5. Once the members of the Committee on the Control of the Fund have been elected, they shall appoint each other to the Chair and the Secretariat. The Commission shall be validly constituted when, duly convened, the majority of its members are present, and shall adopt its agreements by a majority, taking into account the provisions of the following paragraph.

In the event that the fund integrates several pension plans, the vote of the representatives appointed for each plan shall be weighted in the light of their number and the part of the economic interest that the plan has in the fund or, where appropriate, the economic interest of the set of plans of the individual system of the same sponsor if the sponsor has designated a joint representation of its plans.

6. The operating costs of the control commission shall be borne by the fund, but its total or partial assumption may be agreed by the sponsoring entities.

Notwithstanding the above, if the fund integrates individual system plans, such expenses will be taken into account by the promoters.

Article 15. Dissolution and liquidation of pension funds.

1. The dissolution of pension funds will proceed:

a) By revocation of the administrative authorization to the pension fund.

b) By the cessation of their control commission, in such a way as to render it impossible to function, in terms to be regulated.

c) For the purposes of the assumptions provided for in Article 23 of this Law.

(d) By decision of the control committee of the fund, or if it does not exist, if so decided by the agreement of its promoter, managing body and depository.

e) For any other cause established in its operating rules.

2. Once the pension fund has been dissolved, the settlement period shall be opened, the words 'in liquidation' being added to its name, and the corresponding operations carried out jointly by the fund control committee and the institution. manager in terms that are regulated by regulation.

It will be acceptable for the pension fund rules to provide for all plans to be integrated into a single pension fund in the event of liquidation.

In any case, it will be prerequisites for the termination of pension funds for the individual guarantee of the benefits caused and the continuation of the pension plans in force through another or other Pensions already constituted or to constitute.

3. The dissolution agreement shall be entered in the Trade Register and in the Administrative Register, in addition, in the "Official Gazette of the Commercial Register" and in one of the newspapers with the greatest circulation of the place of the registered office.

The settlement shall be completed, after having complied with the provisions of the third subparagraph of paragraph 2 above, the liquidators shall request the Commercial Registrar and the Directorate-General for Insurance and Pensions the respective cancellation of seats relating to the pension fund extinguished.

CHAPTER V

Financial arrangements for pension funds

Article 16. Investments of pension funds.

1. The assets of the pension funds shall be invested according to criteria of security, profitability, diversification and time-limits for their purposes.

The minimum limit, not less than 75 percent of the fund's asset, will be set, which will be invested in financial assets contracted in regulated markets, in bank deposits, in secured loans. mortgage and real estate.

2. A minimum or maximum rate of investment may be fixed in certain general categories of investments in which the assets of the pension funds are realised, in order to ensure their liquidity or solvency and without no case, may entail obligations to invest in specific financial assets whose profitability is not in line with the general conditions of the financial markets.

3. Investment in foreign assets shall be regulated by the corresponding legislation, in the percentage indicated to its nature.

Rules of monetary congruence may be established between the currencies for the realisation of the investments of the pension funds and the currencies in which their commitments are to be met.

4. The percentages and criteria for diversification of investments in securities issued or endorsed by a single entity or entities belonging to the same group shall be established.

The percentages of diversification shall be established on the nominal value of the securities issued or endorsed by the reference institutions, including, where applicable, the credits granted to them or endorsed by them.

Reglamentarily, percentages of diversification may be established for the asset of the pension fund for certain types of investments, according to their characteristics, in collective investment institutions, in buildings, in securities not listed on organised markets, especially small and medium-sized enterprises and in venture capital.

Likewise, regulations may also be imposed on the investments of pension funds in financial assets that appear on the liabilities of entities promoting the pension plans attached to the fund. managing and depository entities of the same or entities belonging to the same group of any or all of them.

The percentages of diversification provided for in this paragraph shall not apply to assets or securities issued or endorsed by the State or its autonomous bodies, by the Autonomous Communities, Local Corporations or by Equivalent public administrations of States belonging to the OECD, or by the international institutions or bodies of which Spain is a member and by others that result from international commitments that Spain may assume.

5. For the purposes of this Article, the same group shall be considered as belonging to the same group of companies in the cases referred to in Article 4 of Law 24/1988 of 28 June of the Stock Market.

When membership of the same group is a circumstance that is beyond investment, the fund must regularize the composition of its asset within one year.

In the case of pension funds administered by the same managing body or by different management entities belonging to the same group of companies, the government may provide that the limitations set out in paragraph 4 they are also calculated in relation to the consolidated balance sheet of those funds.

6. Interest rates on deposits from pension funds will be free.

Article 17. General conditions of operations.

1. For pension funds, the operations on financial assets admitted to trading on the stock exchange or on an organised market of those referred to in Article 16 (1) shall be carried out in such a way as to effectively affect prices with the (a) a number of tenders and plural claims, unless the transaction can be carried out under conditions which are more favourable to the fund than those resulting from the market.

2. In general, pension funds will not be able to give credit to members of pension schemes attached, except in exceptional cases which are reported as regulated.

3. The acquisition and disposal of immovable property must be preceded by its assessment, carried out in the form provided for in the Law on the Regulation of the Mortgage Market and its complementary legislation.

4. The management and depository institutions of a pension fund, as well as its directors and directors, and the members of the supervisory board, may not buy or sell for themselves elements of the fund's assets either directly or per person or institution. Similar restriction shall apply to the procurement of appropriations.

5. The assets of the pension funds may only be the subject of a guarantee to ensure that the obligations of the fund are met, in terms that are laid down in regulation.

Article 18. Obligations against third parties.

Obligations to third parties may not exceed in any case 5 percent of the fund's asset.

These effects shall not be taken into account in the acquisition of assets in the period up to the total settlement of the relevant transaction, nor those existing in respect of the beneficiaries up to the time of payment of the relevant benefits.

Article 19. Annual accounts.

1. Within the first quarter of each financial year the pension fund managing entities shall:

(a) Formulate and submit to the competent authorities the annual accounts of the managing body, duly audited in accordance with the following paragraph 4, and submit the documentation and information referred to the Directorate General Insurance and Pension Funds and the fund control commissions and pension plans attached to the fund.

(b) Form the balance sheet, profit and loss account and explanatory note for the previous financial year of the fund or funds administered, duly audited in accordance with subparagraph (a), subject those documents to the approval of the control committee of the respective fund, who may give the same dissemination as they deem relevant, and present the documentation and information of that fund or funds in the same way as the preceding paragraph.

2. In the first six months of each financial year, the managing bodies shall publish the documents referred to in paragraph 1 for general dissemination.

3. The rules for the valuation of the assets of the pension funds, the criteria for the formation of their income account and the system for allocating them to the plans attached to the fund shall be laid down.

4. The documents referred to in paragraph 1 (a) shall be audited by experts or companies of experts meeting the requirements laid down in the regulations. The audit reports shall cover the financial and actuarial accounting aspects, including an express statement regarding compliance with the provisions of this Law and its regulatory development.

5. The Ministry of Economy may require the management of pension funds to carry out exceptional external audits, with the scope it deems necessary.

6. The Ministry of Economic Affairs shall establish the models for the balance sheet, the results and other accounting statements of the pension funds and their management entities, as well as the criteria for accounting and valuation as soon as they are not determined. by provisions of the Government.

7. The Ministry of Economic Affairs may collect from the management and depository entities how much accounting and statistical data, public or reserved, concerning the same and the pension funds administered by them, are related to their inspection and guardianship functions, and shall indicate the frequency with which such information shall be drawn up and the maximum time limits for delivery to the Ministry.

8. The Ministry of Economic Affairs shall provide the publicity which, if appropriate, must be given, on an aggregate or individual basis, to the data referred to in paragraph 7, in order to promote frequent, rapid and sufficient information in favour of the members and the beneficiaries or the monitoring committees of the occupational pension schemes.

Managing entities should provide the participants and beneficiaries of pension plans, at least on a quarterly basis, with information on the evolution and status of their economic rights in the plan, as well as on other extremes which may affect them, in particular the regulatory changes, changes in the plan's specifications, the rules of operation of the fund or its investment policy, and the management and deposit fees.

In the pension plans of the employment system this information shall be provided on the terms set out in its specifications or under the conditions agreed by the plan control committee.

The Ministry of Economy may regulate the content, requirements and conditions of such information to the extent deemed necessary to ensure adequate information to the interests of the members and beneficiaries.

9. The supervisory committees of the pension schemes may request information from the Ministry of Economy on data relating to the pension fund to which they are attached or to their non-previously published managing or depository institution. held by the Ministry or which the Ministry may collect.

10. The entities referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article are subject to compliance with the reporting obligations laid down in the legal order.

CHAPTER VI

Managing entities and depository of pension funds

Article 20. Managing entities.

1. A pension fund management institution may be the public limited liability companies which, having obtained prior administrative authorisation, meet the following requirements:

a) Have a paid-up capital of 601,012 euros.

In addition, own resources should be increased by the following percentages of the total assets of the fund or funds under management of EUR 6,010,121 in the following tranches:

1. º 1 per 100 for excess over 6,010,121 euros to 901,518,157 euros.

2. º 0.3 per 100 for excess over 901,518,157 euros to 3,305,566,574 euros.

3. º 0.1 per 100 for excess over 3,305,566,574 euros.

For these purposes, the paid-up share capital and reserves to be regulated shall be computed as own resources.

b) Your actions will be nominative.

c) Having as their exclusive social object and activity the administration of pension funds.

(d) They may not issue bonds or go to credit and will have their assets materialized in the assets that they regulate are determined.

e) They must be domiciled in Spain.

(f) You must register in the Administrative Register provided for in Article 11 (5) of this Law.

(g) To the members and to the natural persons of the Management Board, as well as to the Directors-General and assimilated to the latter of the pension fund management entities, the members of the Board of Directors shall be criteria and arrangements for incompatibilities and limitations laid down in Articles 14 and 15 of Law No 30/1995 on the Management and Supervision of Private Insurance, without prejudice to their regulatory concreteness.

2. Pension fund managing entities may also be the insurance institutions authorised to operate in Spain in life insurance, provided that they meet the requirements laid down in paragraphs (a), (e) and (f) of the previous paragraph.

The limit provided for in paragraph (a) of the preceding paragraph shall be understood as applicable, where appropriate, to the mutual fund of social security funds. The access of these entities to the management of pension funds shall be made after notification to the Ministry of Economy.

3. The name of the managing body of pension funds shall be reserved exclusively for institutions that meet the requirements set out in the preceding paragraphs.

4. The conditions under which pension fund management entities may contract the management of investments in pension funds which they manage with third entities authorised under the conditions of this Regulation shall be determined. Council Directive 93 /22/EEC of 10 May 1993 on investment services in the field of marketable securities; 92 /96/EEC of the Council of 10 November 1992 on direct life assurance and the 2000 /12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council Council Decision of 20 March 2000 on credit institutions and other financial institutions of authorised pensions.

5. Management companies shall be charged by a management committee within the limit laid down in the rules of operation of the fund and shall not exceed the maximum as a guarantee of the interests of the members and beneficiaries of the plans. of pensions, could establish the Government of the Nation.

6. It shall be the cause of the dissolution of the pension fund managing entities, in addition to those listed in Article 260 of the Law on public limited liability companies, the revocation of the administrative authorisation, unless the institution itself renounces that authorisation, such a waiver solely motivated by the amendment of its social object to carry out an activity other than the exclusive social object of administration of pension funds referred to in paragraph 1 (c) precedent.

The dissolution agreement, in addition to the advertising that prevents Article 263 of the Company Law, will be entered in the Administrative Register and published in the "Official State Gazette" and the extinct entity will be cancel in the Administrative Register, in addition to complying with the provisions of Article 278 of the Law on Limited Companies.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the dissolution, liquidation and extinction of the insurance entities authorized as pension fund managers shall be governed by the specific regulations of the Law on the Management and Supervision of Insurance Private.

Article 21. Depository entities.

1. The custody and deposit of the securities and other financial assets integrated into the pension funds shall correspond to a depository institution established in Spain. Institutions that meet the following requirements may be 'pension fund institutions':

(a) To be a credit institution in accordance with the current rules on credit institutions.

b) Have your registered office or branch in Spain.

(c) Having as an authorized activity the receipt of public funds in the form of a deposit, current accounts or other similar accounts that bear the obligation of the refund and as a depository of securities on behalf of the public holders represented in the form of titles or as administrators of values represented in annotations in account.

d) Be enrolled in the Special Register of "Depositary Pension Funds Entities" to be created in the Ministry of Economy.

2. In addition to the custody function, they shall exercise the supervision of the managing body with the sponsoring entities, unit-holders and beneficiaries, and must carry out only those operations agreed by the managing entities that comply with the legal and regulatory provisions.

3. The conditions under which the depository institutions of pension funds may contract the deposit of the assets referred to in Article 20 (4) shall be determined.

4. In remuneration of their services, the depositaries shall receive from the funds the remuneration which they freely agree with the managing entities, subject to the prior conformity of the control committee of the fund, without prejudice to any limitations which may arise. be regulated.

5. Each pension fund shall have a single deposit institution, without prejudice to the procurement of different securities or cash deposits with other institutions. The depositary institution of the pension fund is responsible for the custody of the pension fund's securities or cash without this liability being affected by the fact that a third party is entrusted with the management, administration or deposit of the pension fund. same.

6. No one may be the manager and depositary of a pension fund at the same time, except for the assumptions that are provided for in the development of Article 23 of this Law.

Article 22. Responsibility.

The management and depository entities shall act in the interest of the funds they administer or preserve, being responsible to the sponsoring entities, members and beneficiaries of all the damages that may be caused to them by the failure to comply with their obligations. Both are obliged to demand this responsibility reciprocally in the interests of those.

Article 23. Replacement of the managing or depository entities.

1. The replacement of the managing or depository entities shall proceed:

(a) At the request of the institution itself, on presentation of the entity to replace it. In such a case the approval by the control committee of the fund and by the managing body or depository shall be required to continue in its functions of the replacement project which, in compliance with the requirements laid down in the rules of operation of the fund, it is proposed to those in the form and time limit that they will regulate.

To proceed with the replacement of the managing body, it will be a prerequisite for sufficient performance and publicity of the audit provided for in Article 19 of this Law and, if applicable, the constitution by the ceasing entity of the guarantees necessary to cover the responsibilities of their management.

(b) By decision of the supervisory board of the pension fund, which shall simultaneously designate an entity willing to take over the management or the deposit. As long as the corresponding designation does not occur, the affected entity shall continue in its duties.

2. The unilateral waiver of their duties by the managing or depository entities shall take effect only after a period of two years from their notification to the Commission on the supervision of the pension fund and prior to the implementation of the the audit, publicity and security requirements referred to in subparagraph (a) of the preceding paragraph. If the time limit is not appointed, a replacement entity shall be wound up.

3. The dissolution, the insolvency proceedings of the managing or depository entities and their exclusion from the administrative register shall result in the cessation of the management or custody of the fund of the entity concerned. If this is the managing body, the management shall be provisionally entrusted to the depositary. If the entity that ceases in its functions is the depository, the financial and cash assets of the fund shall be deposited with the Bank of Spain. In both cases, the fund's dissolution shall occur if no new managing or depository entity is designated within one year.

4. Changes that occur in the control of the managing entities and the replacement of their directors must be brought to the attention of the control committees in the form that is regulated.

CHAPTER VII

Administrative Control Regime

Article 24. Management and administrative monitoring.

1. The Ministry of Economy is responsible for the management and administrative supervision of compliance with the rules of this Law, which can be obtained from the managing and depository entities, the control commissions and the actuaries. information that is accurate to check the correct compliance with the laws and regulations.

2. The provisions on the inspection of insurance institutions in Article 72 of the Law on the Management and Supervision of Private Insurance shall apply to the inspection of managing entities and pension funds.

In the absence of any express mention in the specifications of the pension plans or the rules of operation of the pension funds, all actions arising from the Inspection shall be understood as communicated when such communication is made to the relevant managing body.

3. The pension fund managing bodies shall provide the Directorate-General for Insurance and Pension Funds with information on their situation, the pension funds they manage and the pension plans integrated into those institutions, with the periodicity and content that they regulate are established.

4. The data, documents and information held by the Ministry of the Economy in the exercise of its functions for the management and supervision of pension funds, other than those contained in public administrative records, will have a reserved character.

All persons who exercise or have exercised an activity in the management and supervision of pension funds, as well as those to whom the Ministry of the Economy has entrusted functions with respect to the same, are subject to the duty of professional secrecy on the same terms and with the same responsibilities and exceptions as laid down in Article 75 of Law 30/1995 of 8 November 1995 on the Management and Supervision of Private Insurance.

Article 25. Accounting of pension funds and management entities.

1. The accounting of pension funds and plans and their management entities shall be governed by their specific rules and, failing that, by those laid down in the Trade Code, the General Accounting Plan and other provisions of the commercial law on accounting matters.

2. In the Regulation implementing this Law, the specific accounting rules referred to in the previous paragraph shall be laid down, laying down the accounting obligations, the accounting principles of compulsory application, the rules on drawing up the annual accounts, the criteria for the assessment of the constituent elements of those accounts, and the arrangements for the approval, verification, deposit and advertising of the accounts, applicable to pension funds and their institutions manager.

Such administrative powers shall be exercised on a proposal from the Ministry of Economy and with the report of the Accounting and Audit Institute of Accounts and the Advisory Board of Insurance.

3. The Ministry of Economy, prior to the same reports, is empowered to develop these specific accounting standards, in particular by establishing the Accounting Plan for the pension funds and plans and the Accounting Plan of the institutions. manager.

Article 26. Advertising and procurement rules.

1. The advertising relating to pension plans and funds and to their managing bodies shall be in accordance with the provisions of Law 34/1988 of 11 November 1988, General of Advertising, and detailed rules for their adaptation. the pension plans and funds and the managing entities, as set out in the Regulation of this Law.

2. Regulation will determine the form and scope with which the Ministry of Economy can make public the data declared by pension funds and their management entities and will also establish the information that the managing entities and the control commissions must provide the members and beneficiaries of the pension plans.

3. In so far as the structure and organisation of the market for pension schemes so permits, the recruitment of pension schemes may be carried out by electronic means.

The Minister of the Economy is enabled to establish specialties and limitations with respect to the rules that, in general, regulate the procurement by electronic means, taking into account the particularities that may result from the recruitment of pension schemes and their unit-holders.

CHAPTER VIII

Tax Regime

Article 27. Contributions and contributions to pension schemes.

Contributions to pension plans that meet the requirements set out in this Act will have the following tax treatment:

(a) The contributions of the promoters of pension schemes will be deductible in the personal tax that taxes their income, although it is essential that each participant in the pension plan be charged the appropriate part of the pension plan. on the above contributions, who, in turn, will integrate it into its taxable base of the Income Tax of the Physical Persons.

b) The participation of a pension plan may reduce the general portion of its taxable income tax base of the Physical Persons in accordance with the provisions of the Law on the Income Tax.

(c) Members in pension schemes and funds may apply, within the time limits and conditions laid down in regulation, for the amounts provided to the pension scheme, including the contributions of the sponsor. which have been imputed to them, which, for exceeding any of the limits laid down in the Law on the Tax on the Income of the Physical Persons, have not been able to be subject to a reduction in the tax base of the said Tax on the Income of the Physical Persons, be, within the limits set by that Law, in the five subsequent exercises.

Article 28. Benefits of pension schemes.

1. Benefits received by beneficiaries of a pension scheme will be integrated into their taxable income tax base of the Physical Persons.

2. Where these benefits are realised in a single perception by the equivalent capital, the amount collected in accordance with the tax rules shall be treated.

3. In no case shall the income received be reduced in the amounts corresponding to the excess of the contributions on the reduction limits in the tax base, in accordance with the Law on the Income Tax of Persons Physical.

4. The benefits paid shall be treated as working income for the purposes of withholding tax, in respect of, where appropriate, the provisions of paragraph 2 of this Article.

5. In any event, the amounts received in the case of long-term unemployment and serious illness as referred to in Article 8 (8) shall be subject to the tax arrangements laid down in this Article for the benefit of the pensions.

Article 29. Non-attribution of income.

The income corresponding to the pension plans shall not be attributed to the unit-holders, thus leaving no tax on the income allocation scheme.

Article 30. Taxation of pension funds.

1. The pension funds constituted and registered as required by this Law, will be subject to the Tax on Societies at a zero rate of charge having, consequently, the right to the return of the withholding taxes. on returns on capital.

2. The constitution, dissolution and modifications consisting in increases and decreases of pension funds regulated by this Law, will enjoy exemption in the Tax on Inheritance Transmissions and Documented Legal Acts.

CHAPTER IX

Administrative intervention measures

SECTION 1. REVOCATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY

Article 31. Causes of the revocation and its effects.

1. The Ministry of Economy shall revoke the administrative authorisation granted to the pension fund management entities in the following cases:

a) If the managing entity expressly disclaims it.

(b) Where the managing body has not commenced its activity within one year of the registration in the administrative register or ceases to exercise it for the same period of time or when the effective lack of activity is assessed in the terms that are regulated to be determined.

(c) When the managing body ceases to comply with any of the requirements laid down by this Law for the granting of administrative authorization or incurs a dissolution.

(d) Where it has not been able to meet, within the prescribed period, the measures provided for in a reorganisation or financing plan required under Article 34.

e) When the administrative entity has been imposed the administrative penalty for revocation of the authorization.

2. The Ministry of Economy shall revoke the administrative authorisation granted to the pension funds in the following cases:

(a) If the control committee of the fund expressly disclaims it or, if such commission does not exist, when so requested by the sponsoring entity of that fund.

(b) Where the circumstances foreseen for the managing entities in paragraphs (c) to (e) of paragraph 1 are met in the pension fund.

(c) When a year elapses without integrating any pension plan or when the effective lack of activity is assessed in the terms that are regulated by law.

3. Where one of the causes of revocation provided for in paragraphs (b), (c) or (d) of paragraph 1 is concerned, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, before agreeing to revoke the administrative authorisation, shall be empowered to grant a period of time, which shall be shall not exceed six months, in order for the managing body or the pension fund that has requested it to provide it to be remedied.

4. The revocation of the administrative authorisation shall in all cases determine the immediate prohibition of the conduct of the activities of the management entities and of the pension funds, as well as the dissolution and liquidation of the institution. the managing body and the pension fund, except in the case of a change in the social object of the managing body in accordance with Article 20 (6) of this Law.

SECTION 2. ADMINISTRATIVE DISSOLUTION AND SETTLEMENT INTERVENTION

Article 32. Administrative dissolution and termination.

1. The dissolution of the managing entities and the pension funds or the termination of the pension plans shall require agreement of the General Board and the control commissions, respectively. For these purposes, these bodies must hold the corresponding meeting within two months of the time of the cause of dissolution or termination, and any partner may in the case of the managing entities, or participate in the case of the fund or pension plan, to request the said meeting if there is a legitimate cause for it.

In the event that there is a legal cause of dissolution of the managing body or pension fund or termination of the pension plan, the agreement is not adopted or is contrary to the dissolution, the administrators of the the managing body and the control committees of the fund or the pension scheme shall be required to request the administrative dissolution within 10 calendar days of the date on which the competent body for the purpose of the procedure should have been convened; adopt the agreement, or from the date envisaged for its meeting, or finally from the day of the conclusion of the itself, when the dissolution agreement could not be achieved or agreed otherwise.

2. Known by the Ministry of Economy the concurrence of a cause of dissolution of a managing body or a pension fund or a cause of termination of a pension plan as well as the non-compliance by the corresponding organs of the the administrative dissolution of the managing body or the pension fund or the administrative termination of the pension scheme shall be made in the preceding number.

3. The administrative procedure for dissolution or termination shall be initiated on its own initiative or at the request of the administrators or the supervisory board and, following the arguments of the managing body or the control committee, the Ministry of Economic Affairs. proceed to administrative dissolution or termination. The dissolution or administrative termination agreement shall contain the revocation of the administrative authorisation of the managing body or the pension fund concerned.

Article 33. Settlement intervention.

In the liquidation, and until the cancellation of the registration in the administrative register, the Ministry of Economy will retain all its powers of ordination and supervision over the managing body, pension fund and plan of pensions and, in addition, may take the following measures:

1. Agree on the intervention of the liquidation to safeguard the interests of the members, beneficiaries or third parties. The action of the liquidators in the terms defined in Article 34 shall be subject to the control of the intervention of the State by the intervention.

2. Designate liquidators, agreeing in their case to the termination of the appointees, in the following cases:

(a) Where the appointment of liquidators was not made within 15 days of the dissolution, or where the appointment within that period was not fulfilled by the statutory and statutory requirements.

(b) Where the liquidators fail to comply with the rules that for the protection of the members and beneficiaries are set out in this Law, those that govern the liquidation, make it difficult, or it is delayed.

SECTION 3 SPECIAL CONTROL MEASURES

Article 34. Special control measures.

1. The Directorate-General for Insurance and Pension Funds may adopt the special control measures contained in this Article where the managing entities or pension schemes or funds are in one of the following situations:

1. º Regarding the managing entities when they are present:

(a) Cumulative losses in excess of 25 per 100 of its share capital.

(b) Liquidity Difficulties that have determined late or default in their payments.

(c) Situations in fact, deducted from the checks carried out by the Administration, which endanger their solvency, the interests of the sponsoring entities, members or beneficiaries or the fulfilment of the obligations as well as the lack of adequacy of their accounting to the accounting plan which is due to them or irregularities in the accounting or administration in such terms as to prevent or make it difficult to know the true situation assets of the managing body.

2. Regarding pension plans and funds when they are present:

(a) Deficit exceeding 5 per 100 in the calculation of the mathematical provisions or capitalisation funds of the plans, which assume the cover of a risk, integrated into the pension fund; or 20 per 100 in the calculation of other technical provisions.

b) Deficit higher than 10 per 100 in the coverage of technical provisions of the integrated plans in the fund.

c) Impairment of the solvency margin of pension plans.

(d) Liquidity Difficulties that have determined late or default in their payments.

e) Situations in fact, deducted from the checks carried out by the Administration, which endanger their solvency, the interests of the sponsoring entities, members or beneficiaries of the pension plans or the compliance with the obligations incurred, as well as the lack of adequacy of their accounts with the accounting plan which is due to them or an irregularity in the accounting or administration in such terms as to prevent or hinder significantly know your true heritage status.

f) Impairment of minimum assets required of open pension funds to be able to operate as such.

g) Failure to comply with an actuarial or financial rebalancing plan approved by or presented to the General Directorate of Insurance and Pension Funds under the applicable transitional arrangements at any time.

2. Irrespective of the administrative sanction which it is appropriate to impose, the special control measures, in accordance with the characteristics of the situation, may consist of:

1. Regarding the management entities in any of the measures that are regulated by the insurance entities in Article 39 (2) and (3) of the Law on the Management and Supervision of Private Insurance, in so far as they are they are applicable, with the peculiarity that the reference in that provision is made to the suspension of the hiring of new insurance by the insurance undertaking or the acceptance of reinsurance and the prohibition of the extension of the insurance contracts already This should be understood as the suspension of the management and administration of new pension funds by the managing body.

In addition, the measure of suspending the managing body in its management functions of the fund or pension funds may be taken, in which case the fund control committee shall designate an entity to replace the institution. prior to the authorisation of the Directorate-General for Insurance and Pension Funds, who may be appointed if the latter does not do so.

2. In respect of pension plans and funds, the measures provided for in Article 39 (2) and (3) of the Law on the Management and Supervision of Private Insurance may also be taken as far as they are concerned. applicable, with the following peculiarities: that the financing plan and the reorganisation plan must be approved by the supervisory board of the pension plan or pension fund; that the suspension of the hiring of new insurance or of acceptance of reinsurance and the prohibition of the extension of the insurance contracts already concluded is replaced by the a measure of suspension of the integration of new pension schemes or of new members into pension schemes, with the same temporary limitation as that; and that the references in that provision are made to the insurance undertaking or to its administrative bodies should be understood as being made, respectively, to the pension plan or fund or, as the case may be, to the managing or depository entities or to the fund or pension scheme control committees.

3. In all other matters, it shall apply in the field of special control measures to be taken on management entities and pension plans and funds as provided for in Article 39 of the Law on the Management and Supervision of Private Insurance, but the references to the administrative bodies of the insurance institution, where the measures to be adopted are on pension plans and funds, are made to the control commission.

SECTION 4. VIOLATION AND SANCTIONS REGIME

Article 35. Administrative violations.

1. The management and depository institutions, the pension scheme promoters of the individual system, the actuary experts and their companies, as well as those who are in charge of administration or management in the aforementioned entities, the members of the Commission and the members of the commissions and subcommittees for the control of pension plans and funds and the liquidators who violate rules for the management and supervision of pension plans and funds, will incur liability (a) a penalty to be imposed in accordance with the provisions of the following

.

This same regime shall apply to the entities promoting the pension plans of the associated system and charges of administration and management of the pension schemes for the commission of infringements on the occasion of the exercise of the own functions of the sponsoring commission.

They will be considered:

(a) Management charges administrators or members of the collective management bodies, and management posts their directors general or assimilated, understood by those persons who develop in the entity senior management under the direct dependency of its management body or executive commissions or delegated directors of the same.

(b) Rules for the management and supervision of pension plans and funds covered by this Law and its regulatory provisions for development and, in general, those contained in laws of a general nature containing provisions specifically relating to pension funds, pension fund management entities or to depository institutions and to be subject to compliance with them.

2. Infringements of the rules for the management and supervision of pension schemes and funds are classified as very serious, serious and minor.

3. They will have serious infringements to be considered:

(a) The exercise by the managing entities of activities outside their legally determined exclusive object, unless they are merely occasional or isolated.

(b) The replacement of the managing or depository entities without complying with the provisions of Article 23 or without complying with the provisions of Article 11 (5) of this Law.

(c) The defect in the solvency margin in amounts greater than 5 per 100 of the amount necessary to ensure compliance with potential obligations.

In cases where the situation described in this paragraph is derived from an actuarial review, only non-compliance with the funding plan to be established, or the lack of any formulation thereof, will be considered as an infringement. time to be set.

(d) The defect in the calculation or insufficiency of investments for the coverage of capitalization funds, mathematical provisions and other technical provisions required pursuant to the second subparagraph of paragraph 1 of the Article 8 in amounts exceeding 10 per 100.

In cases where the insufficiency of the investments is derived from an unforeseeable loss of fitness of the investments that occurred after its performance or is derived from an actuarial review, only the following the failure to comply with the financing or sanitation plan to be established or the lack of such a formulation within the time limit set.

e) The lack of legally required accounting or carrying it with substantial anomalies that prevent or make it difficult to know the economic, financial and financial situation of the managing body or the pension fund, as well as non-compliance with the obligation to submit their annual accounts to audit accounts in accordance with current legislation.

(f) The lack of the technical bases required by the financial and actuarial system of the pension plans, as well as the lack of the revision of the financial and actuarial system required by Article 9 (5).

g) investment in goods other than those authorised or in proportion higher than that laid down in Article 16, where the excess exceeds 50 per 100 of the legal limits and is not of a transitional nature, as well as the operations with non-compliance with the general conditions laid down in Article 17.

(h) Trust the custody or deposit of transferable securities and other financial assets to entities other than those provided for in Article 21.

i) Failure to comply with the specifications and technical bases of pension schemes or the rules of operation of pension funds, unless they are merely occasional or isolated, as well as the performance of the pension funds; unfair practices that harm the right of promoters, members or beneficiaries.

j) Failure to comply with the special control measures adopted by the Directorate-General for Insurance and Pension Funds pursuant to Article 34 of this Law.

k) The repeated non-compliance with the agreements or resolutions emanating from the General Directorate of Insurance and Pension Funds.

(l) The lack of referral to the Directorate-General for Insurance and Pension Funds for any data or documents required by the managing body, the supervisory board of the pension plans or funds, the depositary or the actuaries, already by means of their periodic presentation, already by the attention of the individualized requirements that the cited Directorate General directs them in the exercise of their functions, or the lack of veracity in the same ones, when with this make it difficult to assess their solvency. For the purposes of this paragraph, it shall be understood that there is a lack of referral where the referral does not take place within the time limit granted for the purpose by the Directorate-General for Insurance and Pension Funds when recalling in writing the obligation to submit periodic or reiterate the individualized requirement.

m) The excuse, refusal or resistance to the performance of the inspector, provided that I measure the express and written requirements in this respect.

(n) The acceptance of contributions to a pension scheme, in the name of a pension scheme, above the financial limit provided for in Article 5 (3), unless such contributions correspond to the transfer of the consolidated rights by alteration of the attachment to a pension plan or to the forecasts of a rebalancing plan formulated in accordance with the applicable transitional arrangements at any time.

n) Failure to comply with the duty of information due to the control commissions, participants, beneficiaries and the general public, provided that, by the number of affected or by the importance of the information, non-compliance can be estimated as particularly relevant.

or) The falsehood in the accounting, audit, actuarial or information opinions and documents provided for in this Law.

p) Failure by actuaries or their companies to carry out the actuarial review of a pension plan or actuarial calculations or reports, contracted on a firm basis, as well as the development of technical bases or the carrying out of calculations and reports in breach of the actuarial rules applicable to pension schemes.

4. They will be considered serious infringements:

(a) The exercise merely occasional or isolated by the entities managing activities outside their legally determined exclusive object.

(b) the absence of communication, where this is required, of formalisation, modification and transfer to another pension fund of pension schemes, of the composition and changes in the administrative bodies of the managing entities and in the control committees and the appointment of actuaries for the revision of the actuarial bases and calculations.

(c) The defect in the solvency margin at a level of less than 5 per 100 of the amount payable pursuant to the third subparagraph of Article 8 (1).

In cases where the situation described in this paragraph is derived from an actuarial review, only non-compliance with the funding plan to be established, or the lack of any formulation thereof, will be considered as an infringement. time to be set.

(d) The defect in the calculation or insufficiency of investments for the coverage of capitalization funds, mathematical provisions and other technical provisions required pursuant to the second subparagraph of paragraph 1 of the Article 8 in amounts exceeding 5 per 100 but less than 10 per 100.

In cases where the insufficiency of the investments is derived from an unforeseeable loss of fitness of the investments that occurred after its performance or is derived from an actuarial review, only the following the failure to comply with the funding or sanitation plan to be established, or the lack of such a formulation within the time limit set.

e) Failure to comply with the existing rules on accounting for transactions, balance sheet formulation and profit and loss account, provided that it does not constitute a very serious infringement pursuant to paragraph 3 (e) precedent, as well as those relating to the preparation of the financial statements of compulsory communication to the Directorate-General for Insurance and Pension Funds.

(f) The materialisation in securities of the shares in the pension fund, in contravention of the prohibition laid down in Article 10.

g) Investment in authorised goods in excess of that set out in Article 16, provided that the excess exceeds 20 but does not exceed 50 per 100 of the legal limits and is not of a transitional nature.

h) The procurement of asset management in contravention of the rules that are issued in accordance with Article 20 (4).

i) The non-compliance with the specifications and technical bases of pension schemes or the rules of operation of pension funds, as well as the incorrect application of the pension funds, is merely occasional or isolated. specifications and technical bases of pension schemes to the detriment of members or beneficiaries.

j) The issuance of obligations or the recourse to credit by the managing entities.

k) The merely occasional or isolated breach of agreements or resolutions emanating from the General Directorate of Insurance and Pension Funds.

(l) The lack of referral to the Directorate-General for Insurance and Pension Funds for any data or documents required to be provided by the managing body, the fund control committee or the pension scheme, the institution would deposit or the actuaries, already by means of their periodic presentation, already by the attention of the individualized requirements that the cited Directorate General directs them in the exercise of their functions, as well as the lack of veracity in the same, except that the commission of a very serious infringement. For the purposes of this paragraph, it shall be understood that there is a lack of referral where it does not occur within the time limit laid down in the rules governing the periodic submission or the time limit granted to the effect in the formulation of the requirement individualised.

m) The excuse, refusal or resistance to the inspector's performance when it does not constitute a very serious infringement.

n) The payment to the managing entities of a management fee exceeding the limits set in the rules of operation of the pension fund within the prescribed ceilings, as well as the payments for the (a) the management of the remuneration of the remuneration for its services in excess of those freely agreed within the regulatory limits.

n) Failure to comply with the duty of information due to members, beneficiaries or the general public, where the circumstances referred to in paragraph 3 (n) of this Article are not present, as the performance of any acts or transactions with non-compliance with the regulatory standards of the advertising and reporting of the managing entities and the pension funds.

or) Non-compliance by the depositary entities with the obligations laid down in Article 21.

p) The execution of acts or operations with non-compliance with the rules that are dictated on the form and conditions of the hiring of pension schemes with the members.

(q) Minor infractions, when, during the two years prior to their commission, strong penalties for repeated minor infractions have been imposed.

5. They will have the consideration of minor infractions:

(a) The defect in the calculation or insufficiency of investments for the coverage of capitalization funds, mathematical provisions and other technical provisions required pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 1 (1) 8 in amount less than 5 per 100.

In cases where the insufficiency of the investments is derived from an unforeseeable loss of fitness of the investments that occurred after its performance or is derived from an actuarial review, only the following the failure to comply with the funding or sanitation plan to be established, or the lack of such a formulation within the time limit set.

(b) excess investment in the coefficients set out in Article 16, provided that they are not of a transitional nature and do not exceed 20 per 100 of the legal limits.

(c) In general, failure to comply with mandatory requirements under the rules for the management and supervision of pension schemes and funds which do not constitute a serious or very serious infringement in accordance with the provisions of the the previous two paragraphs.

(d) Failure to comply with the deadlines and conditions laid down in the rules on the ways in which benefits are collected and recognised.

Article 36. Administrative penalties.

1. For the management and depository institutions of pension funds and, where appropriate, the entities promoting individual pension schemes, the administrative penalties provided for by the insurance institutions in Article 41 of the Treaty shall apply to them. the Law on the Management and Supervision of Private Insurance, and although the suspension of the effective administrative authorization will refer to the exercise of activity as a manager or depository of any pension fund or, if applicable, to the enabling to be an individual system pension scheme promoter.

2. The acting experts and their companies, for their actions in relation to pension plans and funds, will be punished by the committee for very serious infringements with one of the following sanctions: prohibition to issue their opinions in the for a period of not more than 10 years and not less than five years or a fine of EUR 150,253,02 up to EUR 300,506,05. For the commission of serious infringements, the actuaries will be imposed one of the following sanctions: prohibition to issue opinions in the matter in a period of up to five years or fine for amount from 30,050.61 euros to 150,253,02 euros. The commission of minor infractions will impose on the actuary the penalty of fine, which will be able to reach up to the amount of 30,050.61 euros. If the actuary acts on behalf of a company, the same penalties shall also apply to that company.

3. It shall apply to the management and management positions of the managing and depository entities and the actuaries ' companies, as well as to the members of the committees and subcommittees for the control of the plans and the pension funds and the the liquidators the liability regime which for the management or management positions of insurance entities regulates Article 42 of the Law on the Management and Supervision of Private Insurance, while the disablement to exercise administration or management charges referred to in subparagraph (a) of paragraph 3 of this Article shall, as the case may be, be any managing or depository entity, in any actuary company or, finally, in any commission or sub-committee for the control of the plans and the pension funds.

The regime of Article 42 of the Law on the Management and Supervision of Private Insurance will also apply to the management and management positions of the entities promoting individual pension schemes as well as to those of the associated plan promoting entities that assume the functions of the promoter commission. In these cases, the disablement shall be referred to, as the case may be, to the management and management positions in entities promoting individual pension plans for the exercise of functions and powers relating to such plans.

4. Failure to comply with the contribution limit provided for in Article 5 (3), unless the excess of that limit is withdrawn before the 30th of June of the following year, shall be sanctioned by a fine of 50 per 100 of the such excess, without prejudice to the immediate withdrawal of the said excess from the plan or corresponding pension schemes. Such a sanction shall in any event be imposed on the person who makes the contribution, whether or not he participates, but the participant shall be exonerated when it has been carried out without his or her knowledge.

Likewise, the failure to comply with the beneficiary of the maximum period provided for in the regulations for the communication to the managing body of the occurrence of the corresponding contingency and for the determination of the moment and forms of recovery of the benefits of the pension scheme may be punishable by a fine which may reach up to 1 per 100 of the value of the economic rights in the plan at the time of such non-compliance.

5. For the purposes of the exercise of the sanctioning authority referred to in this article and the foregoing, the rules contained in Articles 43 to 47 of the Law on the Management and Supervision of Private Insurance shall apply.

6. Persons or entities carrying out the activities of the pension funds or of the pension fund managing bodies without having the required administrative authorisation or using the names 'pension scheme', 'pension fund', 'pension fund managing body' or 'pension fund institution' shall, without being so, be sanctioned in accordance with the provisions of Article 48 of the Law on the Management and Supervision of Private Insurance.

Additional disposition first. Protection of pension commitments with workers.

The pension commitments assumed by the companies, including the benefits caused, must be used, from the moment the accrual of their cost is initiated, through insurance contracts, through formalization. of a pension plan or both. Once instrumented, the obligation and responsibility of the companies for the related pension commitments will be limited exclusively to those assumed in these insurance contracts and pension plans.

For these purposes, pension commitments shall be understood as the result of legal or contractual obligations of the employer with the staff of the undertaking and related to the contingencies laid down in Article 6 (6). 8. Such pensions may take the form laid down in Article 8 (5) and shall include any provision which is intended to cover such commitments, whatever their name.

They have the consideration of companies not only natural and legal persons but also the communities of goods and other entities that, still lacking in legal personality, are susceptible to assume with their workers Commitments described.

For insurance contracts to serve the purpose referred to in the first paragraph, you must satisfy the following requirements:

(a) Revestir the form of collective insurance on life, in which the condition of the insured shall be the responsibility of the worker and the beneficiary to the persons in whose favour the pensions are generated according to the commitments made.

(b) In such contracts, the provisions of Articles 97 and 99 of the Insurance Contract Law shall not apply.

(c) The rights of redemption and reduction of the taker may only be exercised in order to maintain in the policy the appropriate coverage of their pension commitments in force at any time or to the exclusive effects of the integration. of the commitments covered by that policy in another insurance contract or in a pension scheme. In the latter case, the new insurer or pension scheme will assume full coverage of the related pension commitments.

d) The investments corresponding to each policy must be individualized in terms that are regulated.

(e) The amount of the redemption right shall not be less than the value of the performance of the assets representing the investment of the corresponding technical provisions. If there is a deficit in the coverage of those provisions, such a deficit shall not be passed on to the right to rescue, except in cases where the provisions are determined. The amount of the ransom must be paid directly to the new insurer or pension fund in which the new pension scheme is integrated.

It shall be permissible for the payment of the value of the ransom to be made by the transfer of assets, net of the necessary expenses to effect the corresponding changes of ownership.

In insurance contracts whose premiums have been charged to the persons to whom the pension commitments are linked, the economic rights of the parties must be provided for, in accordance with the conditions agreed in the undertaking. subject to cases where the cessation of the employment relationship occurs prior to the occurrence of the contingencies provided for in this legislation or the pension commitment attached to such subjects is modified.

The conditions to be fulfilled by the insurance contracts referred to in this provision shall be laid down, including those instruments between the social security mutual societies and their mutual societies in their condition. of policyholders or policyholders. In any event, the conditions to be laid down in regulation must be uniform, actuarial and financially consistent with the rules applicable to pension commitments formalised by pension schemes.

The effectiveness of pension commitments and the collection of benefits will be conditional on their formalisation in the instruments referred to in the first paragraph. In any event, the failure by the undertaking to implement the pension commitments assumed will constitute a very serious infringement of the labour law, in the terms prevented by the recast of the Law on Infringements and Sanctions in the Social Order, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 5/2000 of 4 August.

In no case shall the coverage of such commitments be admissible by means of the endowment by the internal fund entrepreneur, or similar instruments, which involve the maintenance by the latter of the ownership of the resources. constituted.

Additional provision second. Deadline for the resolution of requests for administrative authorisation.

The requests for administrative authorizations governed by this Law shall be resolved within six months of the date of the filing of the application for authorization.

In no case shall a pension fund or a pension fund managing institution be deemed to have been authorised by virtue of acts alleged for the duration of the period referred to.

Additional provision third. Civil liability and obligations of the actuaries.

1. Actuaries issuing reports or opinions on any of the instruments that formalise pension commitments, will respond, directly, unlimited and, if several, jointly and severally, in front of the promoter, commission, managing body, plan and Pension fund, unit-holders and beneficiaries, for all the damage caused to them by the failure to comply with or defective compliance with their obligations.

Where the actuarial opinion is issued by an actuary of a society of actuaries, the direct, unlimited and joint liability shall also include the company, unless the acting actuary of the opinion has stated expressly in the same one who acted on his own behalf and under his sole responsibility.

The liability of the non-signatory actuaries of the actuarial opinion shall be subsidiary to the former, but mutually supportive.

2. The actuaries and the companies of the actuaries shall keep and keep the documentation relating to each actuarial opinion or review carried out by them, including the working papers which constitute the evidence and the basis of the findings which the report, duly ordered, for a period of five years from the date of issue of the actuarial opinion, unless they are aware of the existence of a dispute in which such documentation may constitute evidence, in which The deadline will be extended until the final judgment is handed down or otherwise the process will end.

The loss or deterioration of the documentation referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be communicated by the actuary to the control commission of the corresponding pension plan within 15 calendar days after the date of the knowledge of it.

Additional provision fourth. Pension schemes and social welfare insurance schemes constituted in favour of people with disabilities.

Contributions may be made to pension schemes in favour of people with a disability degree equal to or greater than 65 per 100. The financial arrangements for pension schemes with the following specialties will apply to them:

1. Contributions to the pension scheme may be made by both the disabled person himself or persons who have a direct or collateral relationship with the same person up to and including the third degree, as well as the spouse or those who they were in charge of them under a tutelage or a host system. In these latter cases, people with disabilities will have to be designated as beneficiaries in a unique and irrevocable way for any contingency. However, the death contingency of the disabled person may give rise to the right to benefits, orphans or those who have made contributions to the disability pension scheme in proportion to their contribution.

2. As a ceiling for contributions, for the purposes of Article 5 (3) of this Law, the following amounts shall apply:

(a) The maximum annual contributions made by disabled persons shall not exceed the amount of EUR 22,838,46.

(b) The maximum annual contributions made by each participant in favour of persons with disabilities linked to a relationship of kinship may not exceed the amount of EUR 7,212,15. This is without prejudice to the contributions which it may make to its own pension scheme, in accordance with the limit laid down in Article 5 (3) of this Law.

(c) The maximum annual contributions to pension plans made in favour of a person with disabilities, including their own contributions, shall not exceed the amount of EUR 22,838,46.

The failure to comply with these limits will be the subject of the sanction provided for in Article 36 (4) of this Law. For this purpose, when several contributions are made in favour of the disabled, the limit of EUR 22,888,46 shall be understood to be covered by the contributions of the disabled person himself and, where they do not exceed that limit, with the other contributions, in proportion to their value.

The acceptance of contributions to a pension scheme on behalf of the same disabled beneficiary, up to the limit of EUR 22,838,46 per year, will be considered as a very serious infringement, as provided for in the Article 35 (3) (n) of this Law.

3. The benefits of the pension scheme must be in the form of income, unless, for exceptional circumstances, and in the terms and conditions that are regulated, they can be perceived in the form of capital.

4. Specifications may be laid down in relation to the contingencies for which benefits may be satisfied, as referred to in Article 8 (6) of this Law.

5. The cases in which the consolidated rights in the pension scheme may be made effective by persons with disabilities shall be determined in accordance with the provisions laid down in Article 8 (8) of this Regulation. Law.

6. The scheme provided for in this additional provision shall apply to contributions to Social Welfare Mutual Social Welfare and benefits to disabled persons who fulfil the conditions laid down in the preceding paragraphs. In such a case, the limits established by this provision will be sets for the contributions of pension plans and Social Welfare Mutuals.

First transient disposition. Transitional arrangements for voluntary integration into pension schemes of existing institutions of provision for the entry into force of Law 8/1987 of 8 June of Regulation of Pension Plans and Funds.

The scheme of voluntary integration into pension schemes of funds and institutions of foresight, contained in the first transitional provision of Law 8/1987, of 8 June, of Regulation of the Pension Plans and Funds, and in the implementing and supplementary rules, it shall remain in force in respect of undertakings, workers and beneficiaries, and plans for rebalance, which have received such a provision for the integration of the rights recognised in the pension schemes under the same scheme.

Second transient disposition. Adaptation of pre-existing pension plans and funds to the amendments introduced in Law 8/1987 of 8 June of Regulation of the Pension Plans and Funds, by Article 32 of Law 24/2001 of 27 December 2001 tax, administrative and social order.

The existing pension plans and funds as at 1 January 2002 will have to be adapted to the amendments introduced in Law 8/1987 of 8 June of Regulation of the Pension Plans and Funds under Article 32 of the Treaty. Law 24/2001 of 27 December, of fiscal, administrative and social measures, and incorporated into this Law. Such adaptation shall be in accordance with the following paragraphs.

The designation of a defender of the participation of the pension schemes of the individual system referred to in Article 7 (5) of this Law shall be made and communicated to the Directorate-General for Insurance and Funds of Pensions within the period of 12 months from 1 January 2002. The control committee for the individual plan shall be deemed to be dissolved once that designation has been communicated and notified by the sponsor to the relevant control committee.

The quarterly information to the members and beneficiaries of the pension plans referred to in Article 19 (8) of this Law shall be compulsory as from 1 January 2003 in respect of the last quarter. previous.

Without prejudice to the foregoing and the effective application, as from 1 January 2002, of the other provisions laid down in Article 32 of Law 24/2001 of 27 December 2001 on tax, administrative and administrative measures In addition to this Law, a period of 12 months is granted from 1 January 2002 for the formal adaptation of the specifications of the pension plans and the rules of operation of the pension funds to the provisions of this Law. the provisions referred to.

In the pre-existing employment pension schemes the composition and conditions of representation in the control committee of the plan shall be adapted to the provisions of Article 7 (3) of this Law by agreement. within a period of up to three years from 1 January 2002, after which, if such an agreement has not been adopted, it shall apply directly.

Pension funds which, as of 1 January 2002, will simultaneously integrate pension schemes for the employment system and schemes of the associated or individual system, will be able to maintain such a situation, although in this case they will not be able to integrate new individual or associate pension plans. The monitoring committee for these funds shall be formed exclusively with representation of the employment plans and the necessary adjustments shall be made within 12 months of 1 January 2002.

Members of pension schemes who, as of 1 January 2002, are older than 60 and five years of age do not exercise or have ceased in the employment or professional relationship and are not listed for the purpose of the Retirement contingency under no Social Security Scheme shall, within six months from 1 January 2002, be required to report the form of recovery of the corresponding benefit in accordance with the rules in force. This scheme shall not apply to unit-holders who have made contributions exclusively for death.

Transitional provision third. Application of the sanctioning regime.

The sanctioning regime for the management and supervision of pension plans and funds governed by this Law will be applicable to the offences established in the same case from 10 November 1999. 1995.

However, in respect of the penalty provided for in the last paragraph of Article 36 (4) of this Law, in the case of non-compliance by the beneficiary of the maximum period laid down in the rules for communication to the (a) the management body of the contingency and for the determination of the time and forms of recovery of the benefits of the plan, such penalty shall apply from 1 July 2002.

In the case of contingencies occurring before 1 July 2002, for the purposes of assessing the commission of the said infringement, periods of non-compliance prior to that date which have taken place shall be included in the calculation. from 1 January 2002.

Transitional disposition fourth. Scheme of pension commitments already made.

1. Employers who at the time of the entry into force of the transitional provisions fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth of Law 30/1995, of 8 November, of the Management and Supervision of Private Insurance, maintain commitments to pensions with their employees or employees whose materialisation does not comply with the additional provision of this Law, they must adapt that materialisation to that additional provision. To this end, a period of 16 November 2002 shall be granted for such adaptation.

Until the fulfilment of the obligation imposed by the preceding paragraph takes place, the effectiveness of the pension commitments and the recovery of the benefits caused by the terms stipulated between the employer shall be maintained. and the workers.

2. By way of derogation, the pension commitments made by credit institutions, insurance institutions and securities companies and agencies shall be maintained by means of internal funds. In order for such internal funds to be able to serve this purpose, they must be equipped with criteria, at least as rigorous as those applicable to those assumed by pension schemes, and must be approved by the Ministry of Economic Affairs. report of the body or entity to whom the control of the affected resources is concerned, which shall monitor the functioning of the internal funds and may propose to the Ministry of Economy the adoption, where appropriate, of the relevant corrective measures; and even the revocation of the administrative authorisation granted, all in terms of rules are set out.

Transient disposition fifth. Transitional arrangements for the accommodation of pension commitments through pension schemes.

1. The funds included in the fourth transitional provision prior to which a compulsory transformation is required may be integrated into a pension scheme, subject to the conditions and benefits provided for in the following paragraphs.

In addition, any other institution for the provision of staff may be transformed, dissolved or liquidated and shall result in the integration into a pension scheme of persons and resources initially linked to that institution.

The formalisation of these pension schemes should be carried out within the deadline of 16 November 2002.

2. In the cases not covered by the preceding paragraph, the new undertakings entered into by the undertakings on the basis of the entry into force of the transitional provisions fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth of Law No 30/1995 of 8 November Management and Supervision of Private Insurance which are implemented through the formalisation of a pension scheme within the deadline of 16 November 2002, will enable the promoter and unit-holders to access the benefits provided for in the the following sections, with the specific conditions that are set.

3. Regulations shall determine the conditions to be met by the pension schemes resulting from the changes covered by this transitional regime to be adapted to this Law, as well as the terms, limits and procedures to be followed by the rebalancing plans in the case of the assumption of pension commitments through pension schemes, and the financing plans in the case of the assumption of pension commitments through insurance contracts, which shall include in their case the explicit commitment of the transfer of the assets.

For the execution and implementation of the rebalancing plans and the financing plans, administrative approval will not be required, although they will have to be submitted to the General Directorate of Insurance and Pension Funds in the Form and time-limits to be regulated.

However, the Minister for Economic Affairs may, in the cases and conditions that he considers necessary, lay down the requirement for the administrative approval of such rebalancing and financing plans.

4. Under this transitional regime and for the active staff at the date of formalisation of the pension scheme, rights may be recognised for past services arising from previous commitments expressly referred to in collective agreement or equivalent provision, or corresponding to services prior to the formalisation of the pension scheme.

This transitional regime will also apply to existing pension schemes that are modified to incorporate rights for past services and benefits arising from previously non-integrated commitments. in the plan, the references to the formalization of the plan to the modification, if any, of the plan, are understood.

The amount recognized in terms of rights for past services that correspond to the funds constituted will be attributed to each participant. Where appropriate, the positive difference between the rights recognised by past services and the corresponding funds constituted shall set a deficit, which shall be calculated individually for each participant. This overall deficit may be amortised, after appropriate updating, and subject to the conditions agreed, by annual allocations not less than 5 per 100 of the total amount, over a period of not more than 15 years from the date of the formalisation of the pension scheme, provided that at the end of the half of the period definitively laid down in the rebalancing plan, half of the overall deficit has been amortised. The individualised deficit of each participant will have to be amortised at the time of the occurrence of any of the contingencies covered by the pension scheme.

In view of the special circumstances which may arise in specific sectors of activity subject to specific regulation, the overall deficit in excess of the overall deficit may be authorised. agreement with other existing provisions.

The imputation of the contributions corresponding to rights recognised by past services is without prejudice to the transitional tax regime contained in the sixth transitional provision of this Act.

The maximum amount of past services recognised for the annual financial years started at 1 January 1988 up to the date of completion of the pension scheme may not exceed the amount for each of these years. of the annual financial limit in force in each of these financial years. However, past services will be fully integrated when the pension commitments undertaken by the companies with their employees or employees are derived from collective agreements. For such purposes, the corresponding rebalancing plans for approval or verification by the Directorate-General for Insurance and Pension Funds shall be amended, where appropriate.

Without prejudice to the foregoing paragraph, the necessary contributions for the coverage of the above services shall be exempt from the individual contribution ceiling set out in paragraph 3 of this Article. Article 5 of this Law.

5. Employers or institutions covered by this transitional scheme, who have implemented pension commitments with their employees and integrated their resources into a pension scheme, will implement the obligations they have incurred in respect of retirees or beneficiaries prior to the formalisation of the plan, either through the plan or through collective insurance.

In the case of integrating these beneficiaries into the pension scheme, subsequent contributions will be eligible for adequate coverage of the benefits provided, provided they are incorporated into the relevant pension scheme. rebalance and this is in line with the law applicable to it.

The contributions and insurance contract premiums paid to meet these benefits will not require the tax allocation to the beneficiaries concerned, being the subject of deduction in the personal tax. of the sponsor in the terms set out in paragraph 1 of the sixth transitional provision of this Act.

The tax regime provided for in this paragraph shall also apply to premiums for insurance contracts which are satisfied for the coverage of benefits in respect of retired persons or beneficiaries under this scheme. transitional, even if employers or institutions have not implemented pension commitments with their employees in the form of an occupational pension scheme, unless the undertakings or entities are covered by the derogation provided for in the paragraph 2 of the fourth transitional provision 6. The regulatory development of this transitional regime shall, in particular, regulate the actuarial rules for the quantification of past services, with particular reference to the new pension commitments referred to in paragraph 2. of this transitional provision; the process of transfer of the assets corresponding to a pension scheme, to be included in its pension fund, its type of remuneration, and its time limit which is not generally it shall exceed 10 years, except for specific conditions laid down by express rule, justify an additional extension; the process of amortisation of the individual and global deficit affecting each pension plan, as well as its possible updating and other issues which under the current rules require development regulatory.

7. The capital increases or decreases which are shown as a result of the integration or contribution to a pension plan of the property assets affected by the provision of the pension shall be exempt from taxation. personnel.

Also exempt are any increases or decreases in property that are revealed as a result of the disposal of the property assets affected by the staff's forecast commitments when the amount If only partially provided, the exemption shall apply to the proportion of the increase which has been made.

8. In order to access this tax treatment, it will be essential that the assets assigned to the staff's pension commitments are in such a situation as at 3 March 1995.

Transitional disposition sixth. Transitional tax regime for the accommodation of pension commitments.

1. Contributions corresponding to past services, carried out by pension scheme promoters in order to comply with the fourth and fifth transitional provisions of this Law, may be deducted in the personal tax of the promoter according to the following criteria:

(a) The amounts deducted in each financial year shall not exceed 10 per 100 of the total contributions to pension schemes necessary to comply with the fourth and fifth transitional provisions of the this Act.

(b) In no case may amounts which have not been previously transferred to a pension scheme be deducted.

(c) No deduction shall be made for contributions to pension schemes made from internal funds by pension commitments, the allocation of which would have resulted, at the time, fiscally deductible.

If the internal fund for pension commitments had been partially deductible in the personal tax of the employer, the tax deduction of the pension contributions made under the This transitional regime shall be proportional to non-deductible endowments.

Contributions to pension plans referred to in the preceding paragraphs shall not be included in the taxable amount of the Income Tax of the Physical Persons corresponding to the unit-holders, without prejudice to the the future taxation of pension scheme benefits in the terms laid down by the current rules.

The tax regime provided for in this paragraph shall be applicable in relation to the contributions made by undertakings to social welfare insurance companies formalised through insurance contracts or insurance benefits of the mutual funds that meet the requirements of Article 46 of Law 40/1998, the Income Tax of the Physical Persons and other tax rules, carried out to comply with the provisions of the fourth and fifth transitional provisions of this Law, provided that such contributions are correspond to rights for past services recognised in accordance with the limits laid down for pension schemes in paragraph 4 of the fifth transitional provision and in their regulatory development.

2. The premiums for life insurance contracts satisfied by employers in order to comply with the provisions of the fourth transitional provision of this Law shall be deductible in the personal tax of the employer in the financial year in question. the payment is made as long as the requirements laid down in Article 71 of the Pension Funds and Plans Regulation, approved by Royal Decree 1307/1988 of 30 September 1988, are met. The premiums for life insurance contracts paid out from internal funds by pension commitments, the allocation of which would have resulted, at the time, fiscally deductible, are exempted from such deduction.

If the internal fund for pension commitments has been partially deductible in the personal tax of the employer, the tax deduction of premiums for life insurance contracts This transitional regime shall be proportionate to the non-deductible envelopes.

For the purposes of the foregoing paragraphs, the tax allocation of the premiums to the persons to whom they are linked shall be effected by the amounts that have been deducted and in the same tax period.

The benefits arising from the life insurance contracts referred to in the present transitional arrangements shall be taxed by the Income Tax of the Physical Persons or, where applicable, by the Succession Tax and Donations, in accordance with the provisions of the current regulations.

Transitional disposition seventh. Application of the reduction provided for in Article 17 (2) (a) of Law 40/1998 of 9 December 1998 on the income tax of the physical persons in the case of benefits arising from the case-law of the employment.

To the amounts received from January 1, 2001 by beneficiaries of contracts of insurance agreed to comply with the provisions of the transitional provision of this Law that implement the benefits arising from employment regulation files, which prior to the conclusion of the contract were made effective from internal funds, and to which the reduction of the 30 per 100 set out in subparagraph (a) of the Article 17 (2) of Law 40/1998 of 9 December 1998 on the Income Tax of the Natural persons and other tax rules shall maintain the application of such reduction, without the conclusion of the contract affecting the calculation of the period of generation of such benefits.

Final disposition first. Update of the tax limit for the reduction of the tax base of the Income Tax of the Physical Persons.

The tax limit for the reduction of the tax base of the Tax on the Income of the Physical Persons provided for in the Law regulating the tax may be updated by the General Budget Laws of the State.

Final disposition second. Supplementary social provision for staff at the service of public administrations, entities and undertakings.

Public Administrations, including Local Corporations, institutions, agencies and subsidiaries involved in them may promote employment pension plans and make contributions to them. (a) the same as for collective insurance contracts, including those formalised by a business social security fund, under the additional provision of this Law, in order to implement the commitments or obligations of the pensions linked to the contingencies of Article 8.6 of this Law concerning your staff official or working or in relation to services regulated by statutory administrative rules.

The above shall be without prejudice to the corresponding budgetary rating available to each entity or undertaking, as well as to any prior authorisations to which such contributions may be subject. As regards both the regulatory and administrative nature, in order to allocate resources to the financing and implementation of the supplementary social provision of staff.

The benefits paid through pension schemes or collective insurance contracts, including those formalised by a business social security fund, in accordance with the additional provision of this Law, they shall be regarded as public pensions and shall not be taken into account for the purpose of limiting the initial claim or fixing the maximum amount of public pensions.

Final disposition third. Regulatory authority.

It is up to the Government, on the proposal of the Minister of Economy, and after hearing the Advisory Board of Insurance, to develop this Law in matters that are expressly attributed to the regulatory authority as well as, in general, in all those susceptible to regulatory development in which it is necessary for its proper implementation and, in particular, the approval or amendment, where appropriate, of the specific Regulation or Regulations.

It is up to the Minister of Economy, after hearing the Advisory Board of Insurance, to develop this Law in matters that he specifically attributes to the regulatory authority of that Minister and also to develop the regulatory provisions adopted by the Government as soon as it is necessary for its implementation and provided for therein.

Final disposition fourth. Exclusive competence of the State.

The provisions contained in this Law, and in its regulatory provisions for development, which are an essential complement to it in order to guarantee the objectives of ordination and to complete the regulation by it defined, has the consideration of basic management of banking and insurance, and of bases of general planning of economic activity, in accordance with article 149.1.11. and 13. of the Constitution, except for the following subjects, which are consider exclusive competence of the State:

A) Pursuant to Article 149.1.6. of the Constitution, commercial law is considered to be the subject matter of:

(a) Chapters I and II, except for Article 7.

(b) Paragraphs 3 to 10 of Article 8.

c) Additional first, third and fourth provisions.

(d) First, second and fourth transitional provisions, as well as the fifth transitional provisions, except the third and fourth subparagraphs of paragraph 5, and paragraphs 7 and 8.

B) Pursuant to Article 149.1.14. of the Constitution, the legislation of the General Finance is considered to be the subject matter of:

a) Chapter VIII.

(b) The third and fourth paragraphs of paragraph 5, and paragraphs 7 and 8 of the fifth transitional provision.

c) First, sixth and seventh transitional provisions.

d) First and second final provisions.