Dutch pension funds DNB, TNO, Vopak and BPFV have transitioned to the country’s new pension system under the Future Pensions Act (Wtp).

The administrator AZL supported the four schemes with the simultaneous transition of around 80,000 participants on 1 July 2026.

AZL said the transition demonstrated that large-scale Wtp implementations could be carried out in a controlled manner, following months of preparation, testing and validation.

“From the perspective of participants and pension funds, 1 July is the date on which the new legal framework applies,” AZL transition manager, Lilian Drummen, said. “But participants notice relatively little at that specific moment. It is primarily a legal turning point.”

The transition followed extensive preparation work, including test migrations, end-to-end chain testing and data validation exercises carried out ahead of the final move.

According to AZL project manager for migration and transition, Kim Bloemen, the Wtp transition involves significantly more than an IT migration.

“The IT element is the foundation, but everyone around it is affected too. Internally and externally. Participants, employers, pension fund boards and employees. The impact is significant in many areas,” she said.

The move to the new system required changes across the entire pension administration chain, including redesigned processes, new pension rules for employees to implement and updated communication flows.

AZL actuarial specialist, Mark Kasperski, highlighted the importance of data quality under the new system.

“In the renewed pension system, returns are processed much more frequently. If an error occurs somewhere, it directly affects pension outcomes. This makes data quality, controls and cooperation throughout the chain even more important,” he said.

In addition, the simultaneous transition of four funds presented additional complexity, as each scheme has its own history, administrative characteristics and governance arrangements.

“The direction we are moving towards is becoming increasingly generic,” Lilian explained. “But where we are coming from is still fund-specific. All those differences have to be resolved during the migration.”

AZL said standardisation, automation and repeatable processes were key to managing multiple transitions at the same time, while maintaining the required level of oversight.

The administrator added that previous Wtp transitions had provided lessons that could be applied to future migrations, including around governance, communication and process design.

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