Angela Peters, new SPF Board member: “We do it for our members”
Angela is 46 years old and is married to Stefan, has two sons aged 16 and 18, and lives in Soest. She is athletic and enjoys jogging in the woods. “I do that several times per week. I prefer not to come across anyone and to completely clear my head. I am a real outdoorsy type, and I like to spend time on the water.
Windsurfing and sailing are activities we like to make a family event out of, vacationing and renting a sailboat in Greece or Croatia. Those are moments we really enjoy together.”
“Building something solid together”
A true professional
Angela graduated as an actuary in 1995 and immediately started working in the pension sector. After initially serving as a certifying and advisory actuary for various pension funds, she then worked at Achmea and in 2015 joined Centraal Beheer APF as a director of the administrative office and Board member. She is no longer a director there, but she does still sit on the Board. Since 2019, she has served for various pension funds on the Review Committee which performs the internal supervision of the smaller pension funds. And since January 1, she has served as expert Board member of pensions and communication at SPF. “I don't have any history at SABIC. I see myself as a true professional with broad experience in pensions.”
“That's also why I said ‘yes’ to SPF. I enjoy doing a variety of tasks and fulfilling another role that involves new experiences. I can put my experience in various roles to good use at SPF. At a company pension fund such as SPF, a role that involves building something the one that best suits me and which I enjoy most.”
Simple and clear language
To ensure she was well prepared, Angela started immersing herself in all of SPF's available documentation in November 2019. “I know what kind of policy documents there are at pension funds and how I can read them to figure out what kind of fund SPF is. I also had many talks with the other Board members and sat in on a few meetings as an observer. I like to connect with the people I work with. The power to connect was not something that came naturally for me. It was something I taught myself by listening carefully and asking the right questions”
“That makes me smile”
“We are often working on a lot of things, even if we don't always mention the word 'member'. But everything we do is ultimately for the sake of our members. You come together because you want the best for them. We want to get the messages across through good communication, in simple and clear language. That means we have to be able to put ourselves in our members’ shoes in order to determine what they need at a given moment and give that to them. It's about putting them behind the wheel more, in order to gain understanding and an overview, and so that they then know when and how they can take action. That puts a smile on my face.”
Expertise and passion
“I immediately saw the other Board members’ expertise and passion for making SPF a success. That starts with the strong commitment of all SPF staff – not just the Board, but the social partners and DPS, as well. That forms the basis for a good pension fund.” Alongside the expertise, she's struck by the degree of professionalism. “Everything is thoroughly prepared, and everyone adds something. It's not just about me. Everyone contributes something and also takes something away, so that SPF, and all of us as individuals, evolve further and benefit. That makes it easier and fun to go through the different processes. All the information we need to have a proper discussion, in pleasant surroundings, is available.”
“Pension as a positive experience”
Angela wants SPF to make even more progress, so that it can provide an even better service to its members. “We also want to show members what the pension fund adds to their lives and ensure that having a pension is a positive experience. That's what I want for SPF and our members.”