Young people and pensions are not always the best match. PensioenLab aims to change that. Colleagues Maurice Berende and Robin Frusch recently worked with students as knowledge guides on issues like ‘showing your true colors’ regarding the voting policies of pension funds, and how to involve young people in their pensions and the new pension system (Wtp). What are their experiences with this missionary work?
How do we ensure that young employees without a pension scheme still pay attention to their pension? How do we get young self-employed individuals to do the same? How do we engage young people with their pension and the Wtp? And also: Show your true colors—voting behavior in investment portfolios.
These are all issues for which young people, together with their knowledge guides, have formulated advice. "It’s amazing to see the fresh and innovative ideas that came out of it", says Maurice, Pension Implementation Manager at APG. He has been enthusiastically guiding young people through PensioenLab projects for several years now as a pension expert. “These are young professionals from both within and outside the pension sector. They come from diverse backgrounds. This year, I guided students from higher vocational education (HBO); last year, it was vocational students (MBO) from ROC Utrecht.” He finds it highly rewarding. “I enjoy sharing insights about my work in the pension sector. I also teach at Fontys in Eindhoven, giving minors (short study programs) in financial planning to third- and fourth-year students. If you have a good job in the pension sector, I think it’s important to do something to make young people enthusiastic about the field and encourage them to engage in pension discussions. They need to be aware that the decisions made today affect their financial future.”
Lessons on financial matters
Robin, also working in Pension Implementation at APG, shares this view. “When I started at APG, I didn’t even know what AOW (state pension) was. That’s crazy, right?” Like Maurice, Robin also has a background in teaching, which comes in handy. "Sometimes it feels like pushing a boulder uphill. But this year, we’re guiding people from the workforce, and they’re highly motivated. With MBO students, it’s sometimes different, but even then, we often manage to get them engaged."
Robin and his group of students researched communication, especially regarding the new pension system (Wtp). “Why? Because with the Wtp coming into effect, some changes will impact young professionals. After all, if you start thinking about your pension early, you have more time to correct potential issues, like a pension gap.” His advice, and the advice of his studentens, to the pension sector and the government is to provide suitable information through short videos on specific topics, where an expert explains the Wtp and how young people can influence their pension. “The videos could cover topics like early retirement or survivor’s pensions. It’s important that young people are represented in these videos so they can relate to the information." The students learned a lot, Robin says, and so did he. "You realize that our sector is somewhat stuck in its ways, while young people have a completely different approach to engaging with their peers. No long texts, but YouTube videos. And Instagram."
Generational differences
“And they tackle things methodically differently. You really see the generational gap there. They’re in a different mindset”, Maurice adds. He worked with his group to find answers to the question of how pension funds can use their shareholder rights more effectively to promote sustainability at the companies they own. “Yes, it’s a pretty technical topic, but the young people I guided were very serious and already working in companies within our sector. So, such a relatively big question was right up their alley.” One of the answers was that every pension fund, big or small, should have its own voting policy, according to the students. This policy goes beyond traditional governance issues. While a proxy advisor can handle this, each pension fund should publish its voting policy. “I was really impressed by the ideas, which made my participation in this even more enjoyable.”
Maurice, who combines his participation in PensioenLab with his busy work at PWRI, finds it manageable in terms of time. “I had a few on-site sessions, and including travel, I spent about six hours on it. In between, we had an hour of contact weekly. But if you have a group that needs more attention and guidance, it takes more time." He sees it as an inspiring project. "The program lasts about six months, and you meet a lot of great people. Not just students, but also during various meetings and conferences, where you learn from people like DNB accountants or pension fund board members."
What does APG get out of it?
Whether APG will actually benefit from the students' ideas remains to be seen. Robin explains that making real change in the pension sector is difficult. “Only twenty people in the Netherlands participate in the annual PensioenLab project. That’s obviously a very small group to make a real difference. But that doesn’t take away from its importance, and every little bit helps.”
Maurice refers to it as missionary work. “The group is small, but I see a lot of enthusiasm. And we are opening quite a few eyes.” He believes that PensioenLab deserves all the support it can get. “I also think it would be beneficial if schools taught lessons on personal finance. How do I budget? How do I manage money? What is a pension? It’s strange that young people learn everything about starting their own business but barely anything about managing their personal finances.”