News item | 01-07-2023 | 9:00 am
The Future Pensions Act enters into force today. This starts a transitional phase of several years in which employers and employees will make agreements with each other and pension administrators will implement these agreements.
During this transitional phase, it is important that people receive a clear explanation of what will remain the same and what will change in their pension scheme. That is why a broad information campaign will start from 21 August from the national government about the new pension rules, in which there will be close cooperation with trade unions, employers and pension providers.
Information campaign
Through this information campaign, the Dutch are informed about what pension is, what remains the same and what changes. This is done through advertisements on radio, television and the internet. Personal information about your own pension provision will follow later from the pension providers, when they start implementing the agreements of trade unions and employers. More information about the new pension rules can be found at www.onsnieuwepensioen.nl.
What will change on July 1?
There are some things that people can immediately notice on July 1. For example, the tax exemption for pension accrual in the third pillar will be expanded from 13% to 30%, so that, for example, the self-employed can accrue more pension. The transitional financial framework will also come into effect, allowing pension funds to increase pensions more quickly if the financial possibilities are available. This is because they are already allowed to look through the lens of the new pension system.
The waiting period for accruing pension will also be abolished as of 1 July. Every employee whose employer has a pension scheme then accrues pension from day one. Finally, from 1 July, the new standard for career guidance will apply. Pension providers must provide even better guidance to their participants in making choices for their pension.
What remains the same in the new law?
The ‘Future Pensions Act’ sets out the agreements that employers, employees and the government made in 2019 in the Pension Agreement. The starting point of the new law remains that pensions are accrued jointly and that financial risks are shared. Employers and employees pay premiums, pension administrators invest that money and pay out the pension benefits.
And what will change in the coming years?
In recent years, most pensions have hardly or not increased at all. In the new pension system, pension providers can use the proceeds of their investments more quickly to increase pensions. It also works the other way around: if things go badly, pensions can also be reduced. The new pension law does provide for buffers to absorb this as much as possible.
The new pension law also ensures that it becomes clearer and more personal how much pension has been accrued. From now on, a member’s pension will be all premiums paid on behalf of that member, plus the return generated by this money.
What also changes is that the contributions paid by employees at any age will be added to their own pension. In the previous system, most of the pension accrued at the end of one’s career and there was an implicit subsidy from young to old. A different job or unemployment at the end of the career therefore had extra major consequences. In this way, the new law is more in line with the fact that people no longer work for one boss for forty years.
What can people do for themselves?
People do not have to do anything themselves for the transition to the new pension system: it is up to representatives of employees and employers to make agreements about the new schemes. It is, however, a good idea to check the contact details with the various pension providers, so that information about the transition to the new pension rules also arrives properly.