In the past two years, Dutch life insurers have taken over €7 billion in pension liabilities through so-called buy-outs, according to new figures from De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). For pension funds, a buy-out serves as an alternative to transitioning to the new pension system under the Wtp. Current market conditions – particularly relatively high interest rates – are favourable for such transactions.
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The first pension funds have already transitioned to the new regime under the Future of Pensions Act (Wet toekomst pensioenen – Wtp), while others are preparing to do so in the coming years. However, some funds are opting instead to transfer their liabilities to an insurer via a collective value transfer, or buy-out. After such a transfer, the pension fund ceases to exist.
At De Nederlandsche Bank, we independently compile statistics on the Dutch financial sector and economy. This article is based on these statistics. More information on our statistics and all dashboards can be found on our Statistics homepage.
In recent years, Dutch life insurers Achmea, ASR, Athora, and Nationale Nederlanden have acquired fifteen different pension funds through buy-outs. As a result, the aggregate value of insurers’ pension schemes has increased by €7 billion, reaching €230 billion over the past two years. This brings the insurers’ share to 15% of the total pension provisions of €1,573 billion (combining both insurers and pension funds).
Buy-outs can be attractive for pension funds, particularly smaller ones, as they avoid the complexity of transitioning under the Wtp. They also offer security for fund members, since the implementation of the pension scheme and the certainty of pension benefits are fixed, as in the current system.
Favourable market conditions further support buy-outs. High funding ratios, for example, enable pension funds to insure indexation, allowing pension benefits to keep pace with inflation, consistent with current practices.
For insurers, buy-outs present new growth opportunities and allow them to operate more cost-effectively.
Table 8.1.4: Pension funds’ balance sheet including look through participation in Dutch investment funds
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