The act that regulates the new pension system has entered into force on 1 July 2023. We are still aiming to transfer to the new pension scheme on 1 July 2025. Should we not be able to reach our goal due to unforeseen circumstances we will inform you as soon as possible.

Employers and trade unions have made a tentative choice for the new pension scheme. They will work with APF Pension Fund to design the new flexible pension scheme over the coming year. After that, it will be possible to determine what the new pension scheme will mean for each participant. Everyone will then be informed personally. Legally, the new pension scheme is required to commence no later than 1 January 2028.

Yes. The new rules apply to anyone who is accruing or has accrued pension or who has already retired. Our new pension scheme will commence on 1 July 2025. Your benefit may increase but may also decrease from the moment the new pension rules apply. Your benefit will fluctuate in line with the economy. The investment results for the new pension scheme are dependent on that. This also applies to pensions that have already commenced. You will therefore receive a variable pension benefit. But as a retiree, you can also opt for a fixed benefit. In that case, your pension will not fluctuate with the economy. A fixed benefit will probably be lower than a variable one. This is because we have to maintain more of a buffer for a fixed benefit.

The relatively high number of retirees APF Pension Fund has is the most important reason for choosing the flexible contribution scheme. If social partners were to choose the solidarity contribution scheme, we would have to fill a solidarity reserve. This would initially be at the expense of the amount of pension most participants would be able to accrue.

Also, APF Pension Fund currently operates a so-called average salary pension scheme and a defined contribution scheme. Employers and trade unions are keen for the transition to result in a switch to just one new pension scheme. So, the solidarity reserve would have to be filled for the existing defined contribution scheme too. This is currently the pension scheme for higher incomes. The solidarity reserve for the defined contribution scheme must be filled from the general resources of APF Pension Fund as well. This would mean that the lower incomes were ‘subsidising’ the higher incomes. This is a situation we would like to avoid and can only do this by opting for the flexible contribution scheme.

One final reason for opting for the flexible contribution scheme is the fact that funds would remain in the solidarity reserve in the event of a company divestment or change of job; they cannot be transferred. The social partners expect this to give rise to some difficult discussions. This will be far less of an issue with the flexible contribution scheme because it has a smaller risk-sharing reserve. So, less money is involved.

2 types of pension are possible in the benefit phase of the flexible contribution scheme: a fixed or variable pension. In the case of a variable pension, benefits fluctuate with the economy and the expected benefits are slightly higher than those for a fixed pension. In the case of a fixed pension, the aim is for benefits to be stable. Because less risk is involved, benefits are usually lower than those received by participants with variable pensions. Further development of the specifics of these 2 types of pension is still under way, in consultation with the social partners. The results will be shared with participants when the time is right.

We will soon calculate the amount of your pension for you every year. We will tell you how much is in your pension pot and how much you are expected to receive when you retire. In doing so, we take account of the state of the economy. You may expect a little more in case the economy develops favourably and a little less in case of an unfavourable development. We spread favourable investment results over several years. This means that your pension will gradually fluctuate with the economy.

No, nothing will change for the time being. Your pension commences according to the current rules as usual. You can make use of all options currently available. On our website you can find a lot of information under About to retire. Do you have any other questions? Then please contact us. Things can only change for you once the new pension scheme has taken effect. We will inform you about this in advance.

Your accrued pension rights and entitlements will become part of the new pension scheme. The total pension capital of our fund will be transferred at the same time. This is known as ‘entry’. The consequences of this will vary from one person to another. The effects also depend on what exactly the new pension scheme will look like.

We expect your pension to be higher than it is now. However, your pension will fluctuate more in line with the economy. As a result, your pension may increase sooner, but it also may decrease. Under the new pension rules, entry will be the norm ('transfer'). If your pension is not converted ('transferred') in the entry process, then you will have 2 pension schemes. This is complex, unclear, risky and leads to higher administration costs.

In exceptional cases, we may decide not to convert your accrued pension. This is only possible if converting your pension would have a disproportionately unfavourable effect on certain groups of participants that we cannot offset. We do not expect this to happen.

On 1 July 2025, it will be possible to withdraw part of your pension in one lump sum when you retire. Do you want to do that? Then you can receive a maximum of 10% of the value of your accrued pension in one amount. However, this is subject to conditions. You should also carefully consider any potential implications for your personal tax situation, such as any benefits you may be receiving. You could lose these benefits (temporarily). In addition, the lump sum payment has implications for the amount of your pension benefit that you will receive for the remainder of your life. This will be proportionally lower. We recommend seeking out advice before deciding that this is a wise choice for you.

Yes, that is possible. Because of the transition to the new pension scheme, your pension fund will not need to maintain as many buffers. The expectation is that this will even lead to higher pensions on average. Pensions will however, fluctuate more in line with the economy. As a result, they will increase sooner, but they may also decrease sooner.

Yes, the surviving dependants’ pension changes. It will be a more simplified pension scheme because it will be linked to your salary. At the moment, the surviving dependant’s pension is still linked to your retirement pension. But working this out is a complicated task. This is partly due to the question of how to handle the surviving dependants’ pension that has already been accrued. We will work this out in more detail over the coming period. You can read more about this subject (in Dutch) on rijksoverheid.nl (search for ‘Beter nabestaandenpensioen’).

Yes, that is correct. This is part of the new pension agreement. It was agreed last year that the state pension age (AOW age) will move to 67 in 2024, and will remain at 67 in 2025. In the new pension system, it has been agreed that the state pension age will not increase by one year every time the life expectancy rate increases by one year. Instead, the increase will be eight months for every year that the life expectancy rate increases. The state pension age therefore remains linked to life expectancy but to a lesser degree. If you are curious about your ‘new’ state pension age, have a look at SVB.nl.

The risk you incur by investing later is linked to your age group. We call this investing via life cycles. For each age group, this means that the younger you are, the more investment risk you can take. In other words, you could achieve higher results. The investment risk decreases as you get older and approach retirement. It is likely that there will also be different life cycles for higher or lower risk investments. The standard life cycle is more or less in the middle. You can then choose how much risk you are prepared to take and how much risk you can handle.

Yes, that is correct. This has also been stipulated by law. For all working people with a pension scheme, a fixed contribution will soon be paid. This is intended to accrue your own personal pension capital.

The pension that a young employee can accrue with this is higher than for an older employee.

The effects of this change in the legislation are being calculated by the APF Pension Fund. After that, the social partners will discuss how to deal with this. Once there is more information available, we will certainly come back to this subject.

It is possible for you to pass away before or after your retirement date.

If you die while you are still working for one of the affiliated companies, your surviving dependants will receive a surviving dependants’ pension. It depends on your salary at that moment. This means that in most cases your pension pot (your personal pension capital) that you have accrued up to that point will be (largely) insufficient to finance a surviving dependants’ pension. The remainder will come from the risk-sharing reserve of the flexible pension scheme or through an insurance.

If you die after your retirement date Then we will use the pension pot you have accrued up to that point for your surviving dependants’ pension. If the pot is larger than necessary at the time of your death, the remainder will be returned to the other members. If, on the other hand, the pot is not sufficient enough to cover all the surviving dependants’ pensions, we will supplement it from the risk-sharing reserve. This type of solidarity prevents a surviving relative from ending up without a pension because his or her pot is empty.

Employers and trade unions have not yet reached a decision on that. We assume that as an employee, you will be contributing to your own pension, just like now. We will have more information on this at a later date.

No. Employers and trade unions will choose the new rules as part of the collective labour agreement. However, trade union members will be able to voice their opinions on the tentative choice that has already been made: the flexible contribution scheme.

APF Pension Fund is evaluating whether the flexible contribution scheme is feasible and balanced, focusing in particular on the interests of all participants, including retirees.

Based on the current legislative proposal, current pension rights and entitlements will be transferred to the new pension scheme. This is called ‘entry' or 'transfer'. This will apply for all pension rights, even those of participants who have already retired. You do not have a choice and will not be able to formally object. Entry (transfer) involves a very careful process and communication in which the consequences for each age group is made clear. The intention is for no-one to lose out financially. It is not yet known exactly how entry will be implemented. We expect to be able to provide more clarity about this during the course of 2024.

However, former participants and retirees do have the ‘right to be heard’ on the subject of ‘entry’ ('transfer'). We enable them to exercise this right by regularly scheduling consultations between employers, APF Pension Fund and the VGAN (the association of pensioners).

Finally, the accountability body of APF Pension Fund has the right to advise on APF Pension Fund’s decision on entry, while the supervisory board of APF Pension Fund must approve the entry method to be used.

No decision has yet been made on this, but we expect that entry (or 'transfer') will apply to both schemes. This will be examined during the coming period.

Even if you retire now, you will still be affected by the new flexible pension scheme. It applies to everyone, including employees, former employees and retirees. See also question 5.

A risk-sharing reserve is a buffer that is used to prevent possible decreases in pension benefits. We do not know exactly how this buffer will work yet. More information will follow later in the year.

The main rule for the pension conversion process is that the employee and employer representatives are required to submit a pension conversion request to us. In this request, they will ask us to convert the current pension scheme into the new pension scheme, which is still being developed. Our pension fund will assess whether the pension conversion request is feasible and balanced. In this context, ‘balanced’ is defined as a situation in which conversion is not overly favourable for certain groups of participants or overly unfavourable for others. Our pension fund will submit any intended pension conversion resolution to our Accountability Body for its advice. The board will only go ahead with the final resolution once it has this advice.

No, the new pension system will not include a recovery plan. This is because pensions will be able to increase in value quicker and decrease sometimes too. Investments are stable wherever possible and a buffer is in place to protect pension benefits. The reserves we will be required to hold under the new system will be far lower as well. So, a recovery plan will not be necessary anymore.

Legislation gives the VGAN the right to be heard. Employee and employer representatives will discuss important aspects of the transition with the VGAN as well.

It is currently still possible to start with a higher or lower pension when your pension commences. The same will apply when the new pension rules take effect.

You will also be able to opt to receive a variable or fixed pension benefit in the future. However, you will need to arrange a fixed pension benefit via an insurer as this is not an option that our fund offers.

If you opt for a variable pension benefit, our pension fund will invest your pension together with the pensions of other retirees. This is called a collective investment mix: a collective variable pension. No individual choices are possible at this stage. The risk profile for the collective investment mix is determined by our pension fund in consultation with Achmea Investment Management. If you are still accruing pension, you will be able to choose between a number of investment profiles.

In the new scheme, it will only be possible to arrange a surviving dependants’ pension (which is paid if you die before you retire) via risk-based insurance. So, you will not accrue a surviving dependants’ pension but take out ‘insurance’ for it. If you pass away while you are still working - before your pension commencement date - your surviving dependants will receive a pension. If your employment ends, you will no longer be insured. Naturally, your new employer will offer a surviving dependants’ pension as well. If you have already retired, there will be no changes, in principle, to the pension that has been arranged for your dependants.

No, your pension pot cannot run out once you have started to draw your pension. The chance of you living to a very old age is absorbed collectively. You will receive a lifelong pension.