08/06/2011
By Ilonka Oudenampsen
Negotiations for a new pension contract in the Netherlands are drawing to a close, but despite several rumours about an agreement between unions, employers and the government, an official agreement has not been confirmed yet.
Dutch media have claimed to possess a document in which Minister of Social Affairs, Henk Kamp, agrees to increase the state pension 0.6% above inflation, but director of the Netherlands’ biggest employee union FNV, Agnes Jongerius, said she was not aware of the document.
She called Kamp’s move to play the last part of the negotiations through the press ‘not smart’, but recognised that at least he now realises that the state pension needs to rise, although she did not want to disclose if she considers the 0.6% to be enough.
Before entering an additional meeting in Parliament this afternoon, Kamp said that there is no new agreement yet. He also denied that any of his employees had leaked information.
Last night the first rumours about a concept agreement started, claiming that the unions, employers and the government would agree on a new pensions contract by the end of the week. The plan seems to be to increase state pension age from 65 to 66 in 2020 and to 67 in 2025, while the state pension will rise in line with wages, possibly about 0.6%. But if people do decide to quit working at 65, they get a discount of 6.5%. The unions demand a higher state pension to compensate for more insecurities in occupational pensions.
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