What about pensions in the Netherlands and where do we stand in the transition to the new pension system? Parliament has approved the Future of Pensions Act (Wet toekomst pensioenen – Wtp). What does this mean for you?
A new pension system
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 entered into effect on 1 July 2023. Pension providers have until 1 January 2028 to make the transition to the new system. We were involved as an independent advisor in the development of the bill.
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.
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.
In the third quarter of 2023, Dutch pension funds saw their funding ratios improve relative to the second quarter, as the decline in the value of their investments was less pronounced than the decline in the value of liabilities.
Dutch pension funds are increasingly investing their assets in foreign investment funds. Whereas their holdings in Dutch investment fund units have been declining for some time, an increasing share of their assets is being allocated to foreign, especially European, investment funds.
Following four quarters of declining assets, the assets under management of Dutch pension funds increased again in the first quarter of 2023. This increase can mainly be ascribed to price gains, especially of equities.
2022 was a turbulent year, with major events worldwide that affected nearly all of us to a greater of lesser extent. This year too, we see the impact of these events clearly reflected in our economy. We outline the most important below, but first we take a brief look back at 2022.