All about the new pension scheme

There have been a lot of developments recently surrounding our pension system in the Netherlands. This started in 2019 when the new Pension Agreement was concluded between the government, the trade unions and pension administrators. Since then, various government agencies have started working on it, resulting in the Future Pensions Act. This law was passed by the House of Representatives last December. This means that the plans will become clearer and more concrete in the coming months and the new scheme will probably come into effect on June 1, 2023.

What will change?

The new law means that the pension scheme is being overhauled. Not everything will change. There will still be a state pension, which becomes available to everyone from a certain age, and a part that you build up through your employer and a pension provider. In this way, we also continue to share the risks surrounding old age, death and disability with everyone. What will change is that the pension scheme will become more personal and its value for the future is not yet fixed. Everyone will be able to see individually how much premium they contribute. A pension provider can then invest in different ways. This is because younger people can take more risk than older people. For example, pensions will quickly increase when the economy is doing well, but they can also decrease when the economy is doing less well. These changes are primarily aimed at finding a solution for our changing society. We are all getting older and changing employers more often. This is better arranged with the new scheme.

What are the consequences for HR and employers?

These are quite a few changes for both employees and employers. HR professionals and pension administrators in particular will be faced with various choices in the near future. If the law comes into effect on June 1, 2023, they will have another 3.5 years to convert all current arrangements. Everyone will therefore receive a new pension scheme by January 1, 2027 at the latest.

Our tips for HR

Our advice is to continue to follow the news about this closely in the coming months. In the coming months it will become really clear which agreements need to be made and when, and what this will entail. In addition, it is important to start discussions with your employees in a timely manner. Older employees in particular (whose retirement will be approaching in the foreseeable future) may have to deal with a completely different scheme. This is of course extra difficult for them because they have built up all those years under the old scheme. Compensation schemes are still being considered, but start talking to your employees so that you know what their wishes or pain points are. Good HR software can help you identify which employees will and won't be significantly affected by this policy. Good HR software can also help you record agreements and automate certain processes, including those related to pensions. With the workload of HR professionals today, this is essential, and unnecessary manual errors and inaccuracies can be prevented.