The House of Representatives has now spent about forty hours debating the law that makes the new pension system possible. The deal, which was concluded after ten years of negotiations, still has to be expanded to keep all parties on board. Will the pension law, which redistributes 1500 billion euros in pension assets, make it to the finish line?
Back to the beginning: what does the new pension system entail?
In the new system, everyone in a sense a private pension pot. This should make it more clear to participants what is in store for them. Moreover, the money for old age will move much more along with economic developments: if the prices of investments rise, the pension can be increased more quickly. The opposite is also true in times of economic crisis.
Why did that have to change?
The current system fit according to cabinet, employers and trade unions are no longer with the reality today. For example, it was too much assumed that people would work for the same employer all their lives. In addition, pension frustration increased because pension increases were not forthcoming due to the strict calculation rules. That was increasingly difficult to sell in times of economic prosperity, when the assets of pension funds increased by hundreds of billions of euros without their participants getting a cent.
What are the objections to the new system?
In the House of Representatives, a small minority fiercely opposed the Pension Act. He believes that Minister Carola Schouten (Pensions) is taking an irresponsible risk with the transfer of more than 1500 billion euros of pension money, partly because the House and Cabinet are still waiting for new calculation scenarios from an advisory committee. The parties also point to an advice from the Council for the Judiciary that says they expect a ‘substantial amount’ of lawsuits against the transition to the new system.
Is there enough support?
Schouten’s predecessor Wouter Koolmees has deliberately concluded the pension agreement with PvdA and GroenLinks. To ensure that the deal had sufficient support in the Senate and House of Representatives, even after the recent elections to the House of Representatives. The left-wing parties have been using this position for some time to get a lot of extras: raising the state pension age less quickly, more opportunities for heavy professions to stop working earlier and the first prevention of pension cuts in order to relax the rules later. to increase it. They also want Schouten to include in the law that the number of workers without pension accrual will be halved. The minister tries to accommodate the parties in order to keep them on board.
How’s it going?
The House of Representatives debates probably more on the Pensions Act in November and will vote afterwards. Then it is the turn of the Senate: the cabinet also needs support from the PvdA, GroenLinks or JA21 to get the green light for the new pension system.