Dutch Future Pensions Act: Don’t Wait Until 2028

Do you offer a pension scheme as an employer and have you not yet taken any action regarding the Future Pensions Act (In Dutch: Wet toekomst pensioenen or Wtp)? Now is the time to act.

1 January 2028 is the final deadline for completing the transition to the new pension system (source, available in Dutch only). But don’t be mistaken: that does not mean you can wait until 2028 to get started.

The transition is already well underway. Some pension funds are already operating under the new rules, while other pension providers have their own timelines leading up to 2028. This may mean that you need to provide information, make decisions, or formalise agreements with both your pension fund and your employees much sooner.

So, if you haven’t taken any action yet, now is the time to check where you stand and contact your pension advisor or pension provider.

The checklist below will help you determine whether your pension scheme has already been adapted to the new pension system.

What should you do now?

You don’t have to become an expert in pension legislation first. Start by asking yourself a few practical questions:

• Who is my pension scheme administered by?
• Has my scheme already been adapted to the Future Pensions Act?
• If not, when is the transition scheduled?
• What will be expected of me before that date?
• Do I need to take action myself, or will someone contact me about this?

Is “no idea?” your answer to one or more of these questions? Conclusion: It is time to contact your pension adviser or pension provider.

Have all these points been taken care of? Then make sure the new scheme is also correctly incorporated into your payroll administration.

Industry-wide pension fund? Check the timeline

Are you required to participate in an industry-wide pension fund under a collective labour agreement (CLA) or industry rules, or have you joined one voluntarily? If so, much of the transition will be organised by the industry pension fund itself. Many industry-wide pension funds inform participating employers about what is changing, when the transition will take place and what, if anything, is expected of them.

However, do not automatically assume that no action is required. If you have not heard anything yet nor know when your pension fund will transition, contact your pension advisor or pension fund and ask about the timeline.

That way, you will know what to expect and avoid having to take action at short notice later on.

Pension scheme through a PPI or insurer? Take the initiative

Do you have a pension scheme through a Premium Pension Institution (in Dutch: Premiepensioeninstelling or PPI in short) or an insurer such as ASR, Nationale-Nederlanden or Zwitserleven? If so, you may need to take more initiative yourself.

Together with your pension advisor, you will need to review your existing pension scheme and determine what is required to bring it in line with the new legislation. The right choices will depend on your organisation and your current pension scheme.

Haven’t spoken to your pension advisor about the Future Pensions Act yet? Don’t wait any longer. The sooner you know what needs to be done, the more time you will have to make well-considered decisions and implement the new scheme properly.

Do not forget your employees

Pensions are an important employee benefit. Any change to your pension scheme will therefore also affect your employees.

Once it is clear what will change, it is important to keep them properly informed. Detailed information about the new pension scheme will generally be provided by your pension advisor or pension provider. As an employer, your role is to make sure employees understand what is happening, what the timeline is and where they can go with questions.

Clear communication helps preventing uncertainty and contributes to employees’ trust in their employer.

Where does RS Finance come in?

It is simple: once the details of the new pension scheme have been finalised and we have received the necessary information, we make sure the scheme is correctly incorporated into your payroll administration.

We do not make the substantive decisions about your pension scheme. You make those decisions together with your pension advisor and pension provider.

For industry-wide pension funds, we generally receive changes directly from the pension fund. If your pension scheme is administered through a PPI or insurer, it is important that we receive the details of the new scheme from you in good time.

We then take care of matters including:

• processing the new pension contributions;
• correctly configuring your payroll administration;
• correctly incorporating the changes into payroll calculations;
• checking that the new arrangements have been properly implemented from an administrative perspective.

This completes the process: your pension scheme has been properly arranged in terms of its content and is also correctly implemented in practice.

If you mainly wanted to know what you need to do now, you have already read the most important information above.

Would you also like to understand why the Future Pensions Act was introduced and which part of the Dutch pension system it affects? We’ll explain this briefly below.

Background: The Future Pensions Act in brief

The Dutch pension system consists of three pillars:

1. First pillar: the AOW, the basic state pension provided by the Dutch government.
2. Second pillar: employer-sponsored pensions, the pension employees accrue through their employer, for example through an industry-wide pension fund, company pension fund, PPI or insurer.
3. Third pillar: individual supplementary pensions, pension provisions arranged by individuals themselves, such as an annuity or pension savings product.

The major changes introduced by the Future Pensions Act concern the second pillar: the pension employees accrue through their employer.

That is why this legislation is so important for employers.

What changes under the Future Pensions Act?

One of the key changes is that pension accrual under the new system takes place through defined contribution schemes. Agreements are made about the amount of pension contributions, while the value of pension assets is more directly influenced by investment performance.

The way pension contributions and pension accrual are distributed across different age groups is also changing. This may have consequences for existing pension schemes and for different groups of employees.

Exactly how these changes will affect your organisation depends on your current pension scheme and pension provider. It’s important to discuss the specific implications with your pension advisor.

Good preparation means peace of mind as an employer

The main message of this blog is ultimately very simple: do not wait until 2028.

Have you already adapted your pension scheme, and do you know when the new scheme will take effect? Great. The main thing now is to make sure that all parties involved receive the correct information in good time.

Have you not taken any action yet, or are you not sure where you stand? Contact your pension adviser or pension provider now. Not because there is any reason to panic, but because you want to give yourself enough time to get everything properly organised.

After all, a pension scheme is more than an administrative obligation. It is an important employee benefit. As an employer, you want to be confident that it is properly arranged and correctly implemented.

That is where we can help. Once the new pension arrangements have been agreed, we make sure they are correctly incorporated into your payroll administration. This helps you stay in control of your responsibilities as an employer, while giving your employees confidence that their pension is being processed correctly.

That means peace of mind for you and greater certainty for your employees.