More than half of all workers and retirees in the Netherlands have now moved to the renewed pension system. At the end of February, the first retirees from the 24 pension funds that transitioned on January 1 received a higher pension payment. In total, more than one million retirees are seeing their benefits increase.
The increase—estimated at 14 percent based on preliminary calculations—varies by pension fund and, in some cases, even by age group. These figures were announced Thursday by the Pension Federation, several of the 24 funds that transitioned this year, and their administrators during a meeting at APG’s office in Amsterdam. “The higher benefits demonstrate how the renewed pension system provides a better pension for participants,” says Ger Jaarsma, Chair of the Pension Federation. “This is positive for retirees as well as for people still building up their pensions.”
High‑quality data and a new IT foundation are essential
In the renewed system, pension funds can better align investment risk with different age groups. Older participants’ savings are invested more conservatively to protect accumulated assets. For younger participants, funds can take on more risk, which is expected to deliver higher returns over the long term. In addition, funds may operate with lower buffers than in the old system. Part of the released buffers can be distributed among participants.
Buffers remain necessary in the renewed system to absorb market fluctuations, although declines in benefit payments can never be fully ruled out. Participants who are not yet retired, but belong to funds that transitioned this year, will soon receive individualized insight into their personal pension assets.
Wim Koeleman, Director of the Renewed Pension System at APG, looks back on the transition with satisfaction: “Thanks to years of preparation with the pension funds, the shift to the renewed system for our first five pension fund clients proceeded carefully and without major disruptions. High‑quality data and the new IT foundation were essential to this. Communicating personally with participants was challenging, but we are proud that, together with our clients, we ensured that participants gain insight into their personal pension assets—and that the increased pensions could be paid out quickly.”
“A good result after an intensive process”
APG administers the pension schemes for three of the 24 funds that transitioned on January 1. These three funds have now paid out the higher pension amounts for February and—retroactively—for January. Fund board members reacted enthusiastically to the transition to the renewed system.
Eline Lundgren, Chair of the Board at bpfBOUW, says: “We can offer retirees a significant increase in their pensions. We have filled participants’ individual pension pots, and we have built in a reserve to absorb market setbacks. All in all, a good result from an intensive process that we carried out with many parties.”
Miranda Blomberg, Chair of the Board at the Pension Fund for Housing Corporations, also has good news for participants: “As of January 1, 2026, pensions will increase by 14.75 percent. Retirees will notice that immediately. At the same time, during the transition to the renewed pension system, we built a robust buffer: the solidarity reserve now represents 15 percent of the fund’s assets. This reserve helps keep pensions as inflation‑proof as possible in the future and reduces the risk of benefit cuts if the economy deteriorates.”
Tarik Uçar, Board Member at the Cleaning Services Pension Fund, adds: “In the cleaning sector, every euro counts. Our goal is to deliver a good pension for everyone, even with a limited contribution rate. And once someone depends on their pension, we do everything we can to avoid reducing it. The renewed pension system helps us do that. With the contributions being paid, we can offer workers a solid expected pension while giving our retirees more security than we ever could before.”
Read the full (Dutch) press release from the Pension Federation.