A year’s postponement and the appointment of a new government commissioner. With these two commitments, Minister Carola Schouten (Pensions, ChristenUnie) also gained a clear majority in the Senate on Tuesday for her new pension law.
It is the final political hurdle for one of the largest system changes since World War II, with millions of employees receiving a personal pension pot from their pension fund. Promises are then no longer made about the amount of their future benefit.
The senate debated the law for more than twenty hours on Monday and Tuesday, which received support in the House of Representatives from the government parties VVD, D66, CDA and ChristenUnie and from opposition parties PvdA, GroenLinks, SGP and Volt. These parties have almost a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate.
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Nevertheless, the senators of these parties still had many critical questions for Schouten, and they asked her for new concessions.
There was little support, especially for the deadline of 1 January 2027. By then, all pension funds must have switched to the new system.
“That is very short notice,” said Roel van Gurp (GroenLinks). “It would be for funds and directors a hell of a job to get it done on time.” CDA senator Ria Oomen feared a “rush hour” in 2026, in which all funds want to hire the same IT specialists and accountants at the same time.
But where the CDA asked for a three-year postponement and GroenLinks and PvdA for two, Schouten is sticking to one for the time being. She pointed to the employers and trade unions, who agree on the pension schemes and manage the pension funds. They thought no delay was necessary. “They say: more delay can also lead to ambiguity.”
At the same time, the minister kept open the option of rescheduling the deadline again later. She embraced an idea from CDA member Oomen to appoint an independent government commissioner. It should monitor the transfer of funds and warn if more time is needed.
Schouten also met senators on other points, in order to remove their biggest objections. But she did not go along with a fervent wish of PvdA and GroenLinks. They asked for an extension of the temporary scheme that makes early retirement more attractive, for example for people with a heavy profession.
Schouten only wanted to promise that she will discuss this with employers and unions. The Senate wants more: in a motion submitted by the PvdA, a parliamentary majority asks Schouten for a ‘continuation’ and ‘expansion’ of the current regulation.
‘Execution Drama’
At the end of the debate, PvdA and GroenLinks sounded positive. “My summary remains: we have to move to a new system,” said Ferd Crone (PvdA). Minister Schouten has “compensated generously” to the Senate, concluded Van Gurp (GroenLinks).
The fiercest criticism came from PVV, 50Plus and SP, among others. 50Plus senator Martin van Rooijen called the change a “chronic on an announced performance drama”.
The Senate will vote on the law next Tuesday, which will then take effect on July 1. At first, employees and pensioners will not notice this. But employers, trade unions and works councils can then start designing new pension schemes. Pension funds can adapt their computer systems to the new rules.
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The most complex discussions will only get underway in the coming years. Especially if pension funds split up their large joint pension pot into personal pots. Then the question is: who gets what part of the pot? “Let’s be clear,” said Schouten, “if this law is passed, it will all just begin.”
And no, Schouten said, such a large, complex operation will probably not run smoothly. “Of course we hope that it will go perfectly in one go, but we know that the world is more complex than that.”
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of May 24, 2023.