Dutch people are increasingly aware of the importance of understanding their financial situation after retirement. Also, compared to 2022, people are studying their pensions more often. Annette Mosman, APG’s CEO shows that she is pleased with these figures today, at the start of the Pensioen3daagse, but she is still concerned about the substantial pension gap in the Netherlands.
Too complex. Too remote. Too boring. Too little knowledge. This is often how people view pensions. Previous research by APG Research even found that people exhibit more positive emotions with terms like “grass” and “brick” than with “gross pension” and “funding ratio. But this seems to be slowly changing, according to today’s biennial survey by Wijzer in geldzaken (Money Wise Platform). This initiative of the Ministry of Finance is the “signpost” to reliable information about money matters and the driving force behind the Pensioen3daagse. Where ten years ago 61 percent of Dutch citizens were pension-conscious, that is now 72 percent.
“We had hoped that the advent of the Future of Pensions Act (Wtp, ed.), and all the changes associated with it, would make Dutch citizens more aware of their capital and pensions. That this now seems to be the case is positive,” Mosman responds. And, she believes, it could just be the prelude to even more awareness. “The participants of the funds that will transition on January 1, 2025 will receive letters about their personal situation in the coming period. That may further stimulate interest and ensure that more Dutch people look more closely into their pensions. But it starts with the people themselves. Do you open a letter or email and read it carefully, or do you put the letter away in the proverbial drawer never to look at it again?”
Men versus women
Incidentally, the same survey shows a growing awareness of the importance of understanding one’s financial situation after retirement. In this regard, more men than women say they realize that they need to look deeper into their financial situation after retirement (70 percent versus 63 percent). This difference surprises Mosman somewhat. She turns her gaze to the business world for this. “When you talk about diversity in the boardroom, it always strikes me that women focus much more on the long term. And they look for a different perspective on risk more often than men do. In short, women are less focused on short-term results; they tend to have the long-term perspective in mind. This would mean that women should also be able to think very carefully about retirement, and yet we’re seeing that this is not the case.”
And what is the reason for that? Mosman says it’s hard to pinpoint. “From our own research, we do know, for example, that women generally think they should have known and therefore do not ask questions about this topic. That would be dumb. But nothing could be further from the truth; never be afraid to ask.”
Substantial pension gap
She does believe there should be more talk about the long term at the kitchen table, in any case. “Women in the Netherlands receive on average 40 percent less pension than a man. When does that gap arise? When they have children. The man usually earns more than the woman and based on income, women then decide to work part-time. But they’re not thinking about the fact that when they do that, women not only have a smaller income, they are also accruing less of a pension.” Figures from the Wijzer in geldzaken survey support this. Almost half (48 percent) of Dutch people are not aware that the pension income for women is lower than for men; they think women get about the same or even more pension. “The Dutch situation is quite exceptional; the pension gap here is the second-largest in Europe, despite the fact that we have an almost perfect system here,” says Mosman. It is partially determined culturally. “In countries like France and Sweden, people think much more in terms of unpaid work and how to divide that within the household. We should have that conversation in the Netherlands more often too.”
APG’s CEO appeals to the sector as a whole. “Awareness needs be raised further, and some of the responsibility for this lies with the women themselves. For example, they must open and read through the letter about pensions they will be receiving soon. But the government also has an informative role, as do pension providers and employers. Especially the latter group, as they are seen as the trusted partners; more so than the government. They should thoroughly inform women about the long-term consequences of part-time employment, about the other causes of the pension gap and about the options available to supplement retirement income.”