Occident and the Observatory of European Systems of Complementary Social Pension Plans have renewed their collaboration

"In this way, Occident, the first sponsor of the Observatory, is reinforcing its commitment and involvement in the development of social awareness about complementary social pension plans."

At the start of 2024, Seguros Catalana Occidente, Plus Ultra Seguros and Seguros Bilbao have been unified under the new Occident brand, creating a company that provides a service to 4 million insured parties. Occident belongs to GCO (Grupo Catalana Occidente), which over its 160 years of history has grown to become a leading company in the insurance sector, with a presence in more than 50 countries, a workforce of more than 8,600 employees and more than 17,000 mediators. In 2023, the group was the sixth-largest company in the Spanish insurance market and the second-largest in credit insurance worldwide, through Atradius Crédito and Caución.

The Observatory of European Systems of Complementary Social Pension Plans, which is a multidisciplinary platform for research, training and dissemination around social pension plans and a part of the welfare state, has become a hub of initiatives involving different entities, associations, organisations and institutions who share an interest in the development of complementary social pension plans, within the social pension plan model of the three pillars.

That is why the Observatory's partners include private companies, trade union and employers' organisations, mutual societies, professional associations, governmental bodies, other observatories and academic institutions, among others. This is a heterogeneous situation, in which organisations with a range of interests share the same objective in terms of the development of complementary social pension plans.

First sponsor of the Observatory

On 6 April 2021, Seguros Catalana Occidente, now Occident, became the first sponsor of the Observatory of European Systems of Complementary Social Pension Plans. José María Serra, President of GCO, played a key role in the early stages of the Observatory's activity, showing the company's commitment to its training, research and dissemination work about social pension plans. The institution's prestige was hugely important for the early events organised by the Observatory.

In the words of José María Serra, "The Observatory is a tool that allows us to reflect on the complementary social pension plan models in the EU and raise awareness among the different stakeholders about the importance of developing these to guarantee the well-being of society in the long term".

"In what was still an early stage of development for the Observatory, having the support and collaboration of a leader in the insurance sector allowed us to gain publicity for our initiatives in a way that would not have been possible without them. "In what was still an early stage of development for the Observatory, having the support and collaboration of a leader in the insurance sector allowed us to gain publicity for our initiatives in a way that would not have been possible without them. That is why we are deeply grateful to Occident for its support for our work to promote complementary social pension plans”, added Dr. Varea. “I trust that this sponsorship will continue to benefit both parties and that we will continue working with Occident and its magnificent complementary social pension plans team for many more years to come", the Director of the Observatory concluded.