News items

Really satisfied with SPF
SPF surveys members’ satisfaction with the fund every two years. We would like to know how our members view our services and communication. And where we could improve. A research agency conducted the 'Benchmark Monitor Pension Funds' (BMP) in spring 2021. Other company pension funds also took part. It helps us find out how we’re doing compared with other funds. We spoke with Mark Gerards, DSM Pension Services communications advisor about the results and the follow-up.

                                           'Timely and clear communication about a complex topic.'

Member results
Mark began: 'First, I want to thank everyone who completed the survey. It gives us important information that we can use to adjust our services. Our members are generally satisfied with the fund. We received an overall mark van 7.6. For our information services we received a 7.6 and a 7.7 for service quality. Approximately three-quarters feel they have a clear insight into their pension scheme. There’s also a high level of pension awareness. I’m really happy about this as it’s such a complex topic. It’s remarkable that only a small number of members are prepared to receive pension information via social media. You’d think that this would now be the main way to share information.'

Can yet more things be improved? Mark continued: 'Almost half of members indicated that we can communicate better about the financial risks. Members would also like more information about their own personal situation. We’re making a start straight away in this newsletter with the surprisingly lower score we saw on understanding what our members need.' See the item 'What do you think about us?' for this.

                                                    'Reliable fund with good, open communication.'

Pensioner results
Pensioners are slightly more positive than active members across all topics, explained Mark. 'They gave the fund an 8.0. They also gave us an 8.0 for information provision and an 8.1 for service quality. 80% of pensioners view the pension fund in a positive light. Over four in five have a lot of confidence in the fund and feel they’re given clear insight into their pension scheme. And the pensioners are also more positive about our customer focus.'

Socially Responsible
SPF also wanted to gauge how important socially-responsible investing is for members and pensioners. Mark continued: 'Our members think that SPF needs to take into account how the companies in which it invests treat people and the environment, but they don’t think socially-responsible investing should be at the expense of returns or lead to higher risks.'

                                        'Good results, good communication, high customer focus.'

Comparison
SPF members are generally somewhat more satisfied than members of comparable funds. The pensioners are somewhat less positive about some topics. Why is that? Mark continued: 'One explanation for this could be that other funds have been able to allocate indexation in recent years. SPF has been unable to do that and that was felt immediately by this group.' The survey also showed that members and pensioners from the different SABIC locations have the same opinion about our fund. There are no major differences here.

What next?
In general we’re happy with the results of the survey but there’s certainly room for improvement. Mark added: 'We’re going to work on customer focus, paying more attention to what people find important on a personal level. Hopefully we’ll now be able to organize in-person member meetings again, so we can determine where the needs are. We’re also going to focus more on our communication about costs, risks, and sustainability. Last year we already took various steps on sustainability, as you can see on our website. But you can also find everything about the costs and risks on our website. We’ll also continue working toward greater pension awareness. For instance, we’ll be expanding "My SPF Pension" to ensure a greater customer focus.' To be continued, then....!