Even now that the Dutch government is outgoing, the debate of bills concerning pensions can continue as usual. This was decided by the House of Representatives. It concerns, among other things, the law regarding “lump sums”. This law has already been postponed several times.
Summarized
- There are currently three bills on pensions, all of which have been declared non-controversial.
- These are the Lump Sum Revision Act, the Pension Distribution in the Event of Divorce Act and the Pension Fund Own Strategy Act.
After the fall of a government, the House of Representatives always compiles a list of subjects that it wants to postpone until there is a new government (those bills are declared “controversial”) and subjects that it still wants to debate. The debate of proposals surrounding pensions will continue as usual. These are:
- the Lump Sum Review Act;
- the Pension Benefits Division Act; and
- the Individual Strategy Pension Fund Act.
The House of Representatives has said that it still wants to debate these proposals. It is not yet clear when that will happen, whether the bills will be approved, and if so, when the changes will take effect. House of Representatives member Pieter Omtzigt did submit a request on September 11 to declare the “lump sum” controversial after all. This request was rejected the following day.
What is the Lump Sum Review Act about?
The lump sum allows participants to withdraw up to 10 percent of their pension in a lump sum when they retire. They will receive this amount on their retirement date, and after that, they will obviously receive a lower pension benefit each month.
Legislation allowing this new pension choice has already been delayed several times. The effective date now stands at July 1, 2024. Until the law is in place, participants will not be able take advantage of this option.
What is the Pension Benefits Division Act about?
In a divorce, an ex-partner is entitled to half of the pension accrued during the marriage/common law marriage. Many people have difficulties setting this up properly. With the Pension Benefits Division Act, the government wants to make this division easier.
And finally, the Individual Strategy Pension Fund Act
Finally, the House of Representatives will discuss a third pension bill: the Individual Strategy Pension Fund Act. This is an initiative bill by D66. The proposal aims to give the accountability body (Vo) and the stakeholders’ body (Bo) an advisory right on the exclusion policy of the pension fund and on the socially responsible investment policy.