What participants see each month in their pension overview should also be visible to their board. With that idea in mind, APG developed a dashboard for pension funds operating under the solidarity defined contribution scheme. It provides insight into returns, (accumulated and fluctuating) assets, and participant behaviour, and is intended to help boards determine when explanation is needed, and when it is not.
In the old system, governance was more straightforward, says APG’s Chief Client Officer (CCO) Wim Koeleman. “Under the previous framework, the FTK, pension fund boards had a very clear picture of how high participants’ pensions were. The pension base multiplied by the accrual rate, that produced a result, and then there was a single annual decision on indexation. If the funding ratio allowed it, that decision was taken and that became the new pension. You had that fully under control”, he says in an interview with industry publication PensioenPro.
That predictability has disappeared for funds transitioning to the new pension rules. In the solidarity defined contribution scheme, participants have an individual pension asset that develops on a monthly basis. Movements in the financial markets are therefore immediately visible. According to Koeleman, that is precisely why insight is crucial. “Participants can see in their personal environment what their return is and what this does to their expected pension. As a board, you don’t automatically know what they are seeing. But ideally, you should, in order to understand what is going on and to assess whether the scheme is delivering what it was intended to deliver.”
A dashboard as a governance tool
The dashboard developed by APG is designed to provide that insight. Boards can view the development of pension assets by age cohort, the returns achieved and how those returns are built up. Collective assets, such as the solidarity reserve, are also included. In addition, the dashboard shows how participants behave: how often they log in, which questions they ask and when contact increases.
In the article published on the PensioenPro website, Koeleman emphasises that this is not about continuous intervention. “It’s about recognising patterns. When is interpretation needed? When is monitoring sufficient? And when is calm actually the best signal to send to participants?” The formal scope for action available to boards is more limited under the new system than it was before. Contribution and indexation policies have disappeared, and investment policy is fixed for several years within agreed frameworks. As a result, the emphasis shifts. “As a board, the most important steering instrument you really have now is communication”, Koeleman says. “Providing interpretation, explanation, and making sure you do so through the right channels and at the right time. That is the reality in the new world.”
Practical experience at bpfBOUW
At bpfBOUW, which transitioned to the new system at the start of 2026, the dashboard is now also in use. The fund contributed in a co‑creation process to the development of the new dashboard. Board member Eline Lundgren says, in a subsequent discussion with APG, that she sees its added value. “You can see patterns in the behaviour of participant cohorts. That helps you determine more clearly: do we need to explain something, or not?" According to Lundgren, the value lies precisely in that combination. “Participants will not always be able to interpret movements correctly. Sometimes an individual pot decreases while the expected benefit actually increases. That may not be understood, and that’s where you can communicate in a targeted and calm way.” That calmness is crucial. “Not every fluctuation calls for action. Pensions are a long‑term product. Communicating too quickly can actually create unrest.”
The dashboard helps boards make well‑substantiated choices. Koeleman says that is exactly its purpose. “We do have information from insurers and PPIs that already operate DC schemes. With employers that have just moved from a DB to a DC scheme, you tend to see more questions at first, but over time there is actually not that much response. Even when investments sometimes go down; people suffer in silence. But it’s also not the case that they really want to, or can, do much about it. So it’s a matter of finding that out. That is also why we are developing this for pension fund boards, because they are just as curious about this.”
Read the full interview at pensioenpro.nl (in Dutch and accessible to subscribers only).