At the beginning of July 2020, employers, labor unions, and the Dutch government reached an agreement on the details of the Pension Agreement (het Pensioenakkoord). The Pension Agreement mainly concerns pension that is accrued via your employer, such as your pension with SPF. The Pension Agreement provides for a fundamental reform of the Dutch pension system, and its effect was meant to be legally defined by January 1, 2022. All pension funds in the Netherlands were meant to have changed their schemes by January 1, 2026 to ensure they complied with the new rules. However, in May 2021, the Dutch Minister of Social Affairs and Employment stated that the legislative process had been delayed and that the new pension system would enter into force no later than January 1, 2023. The end date has therefore been moved to January 1, 2027.
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Some steps need to be taken before all pension schemes are changed. First of all, many points of the Pension Agreement itself need to be worked out in more detail before the Agreement can be laid down in legislation. Secondly, social partners and pension fund boards have to make some important decisions. It is therefore not yet known when the pension schemes implemented by SPF will be transferred to the new rules.
What we communicated before can be found in the right menu.
Below you can read what is known so far about the new pension system and the new pension rules. What this means for your personal pension will become clearer in time. Of course, we will keep you updated.
The new pension system retains the strengths of the current system:
You cannot withdraw your entire accrued pension at once – you can withdraw up to 10% of your pension. If you withdraw a lump sum, your monthly lifelong pension will be reduced. You have to decide for yourself whether you can live the way you want to with that lower pension. At the moment, we cannot say what it means for everyone personally. We cannot yet make calculations or give sample amounts.
Withdrawing a lump sum can have consequences for your tax return and for any benefits you receive, such as care benefit or rent benefit. The consequences depend on various factors, such as the amount of money you withdraw. Your personal situation also plays a role.
When you retire on a pension, you can opt for a lump sum. You can also decide what you spend your money on.
If you stop working before your State Pension Age (AOW age), SPF offers you the option to choose a higher pension up to your AOW age. However, you cannot opt for a lump sum as well, as this combination is not permitted by law.