Pensions

Society is changing. We are all living longer and the number of pensioners compared to the number of people working is steadily increasing. The number of flexible and self-employed workers has increased, and employees no longer stay with the same employer for their entire careers. The present pension system is unable to keep up with these developments. That is why the Dutch Senate and House of Representatives have passed a bill to amend the Pensions Act. The new Act took effect on 1 July 2023.

Pension funds, trade unions and employers currently have until 1 January 2027 to adapt their pension schemes to the new legislation. The responsible minister of the previous government indicated that this end date will be moved back to 1 January 2028. We were involved as an independent advisor in the development of the legislation, and we assess the files of pension funds switching to the new system.

The Dutch pension system consists of three parts, also referred to as the three pillars:

• The first pillar is the state pension under the General Old Age Pensions Act (AOW). This Act dates from 1957 and stipulates that all people aged 65 and above must be paid a basic pension by the state. Meanwhile, the retirement age has been raised to 67.
• The second pillar is the pension that employees are required to build up through their employer. This provides retired (former) employees with an additional benefit on top of their state pension. The changes in the new pension system concern the second pillar. 
• The third pillar consists of voluntary individual income provisions (e.g. life insurance to fill a pension gap or to retire early).  

De Nederlandsche Bank supervises the pension providers in the second pillar, such as pension funds and insurers. We also supervise financial institutions that offer products in the third pillar, such as insurers and banks. Our statistics on the pension sector enable policymakers, researchers and other interested parties to monitor developments and achieve societal goals better.

Would you like to know how much pension you have built up so far? Then go to the website. Use your DigiD to log in.

How many people in the Netherlands build up pension through their employer? How much pension contributions do we pay collectively? Find out this and more in our statistics. For example, look up information about your own pension fund, such as the contribution you pay or its funding ratio.