Netherlands: Future Pensions Act passed, transition to new pension system starts on 1 July 2023

From July 1 this year, a transition phase of several years will start for the Future Pensions Act. During this phase employers and employees will make joint agreements on adapting their pension scheme. Pension providers will then implement these agreements.

The new act has three goals:

• A supplementary pension that increases faster;
• A more personal and clearer pension accrual;
• A pension system that is more in line with the fact that (most) people today change jobs more frequently.

What remains the same?

The principle of the new law remains unchanged: pensions are built up jointly and financial risks are shared between employers and employees. Employers and employees pay contributions, while pension providers invest these funds and make pension payments.

What will change?

In recent years, most pensions have barely increased. Under the new pension system, pension providers will have the option to use the returns from their investments to increase pensions more quickly. It will also work the opposite way: in case of disappointing results, pensions can be reduced because the new pension law provides “buffers”. Fluctuations in the economy are absorbed as much as possible by setting aside part of the contributions for uncertain times.

In addition, the new pension system provides more clarity on how much pension is accrued. From now on, a member’s pension will consist of all contributions paid on behalf of that member, plus the return these funds generated. In the previous system, most of the pension was accrued at the end of one’s career, resulting in an implicit subsidy from young to old. This had significant consequences when changing jobs or unemployment at the end of one’s career. The new law better reflects the current reality where people no longer work for the same employer for 40 years.