The pension fund supervision division of De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) has defended its approach to the Future of Pensions Act (Wtp) transition, stressing that it "asks questions that require more time to answer properly", after several funds pushed back their transition date in recent months.

The new system, which officially took effect on 1 July 2023, enables funds to adjust investments based on age, thereby increasing pension benefits.

Around 11 million participants are expected to transition to the new system by January 2026, while 235,000 participants have already made the switch.

However, several Dutch pension funds have voiced concerns about amendments to the Wtp, proposed by the political parties New Social Contract (NSC) and the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB).

A number of Dutch pension funds have also announced they were postponing their planned transition last month, and Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) head of insurances and pensions, Anne de Groot, said that communication with participants of pension funds transitioning to Wtp "could be better in some cases."

Defending his division's supervisory approach, DNB division director of pension fund supervision, Jochem Dijckmeester, said, "you only get one chance to do this, so it has to be right the first time."

Reflecting on recent delays, he recognised that capacity in the sector was "scarce" and highlighted problems with the internal governance of the pension fund and cooperation with the administrative organisations.

"We are seeing a lot of different approaches to how the transition is being organised," he added.

However, Dijckmeester acknowledged that if the DNB were to undertake the transition again, it would approach things differently.

"Sometimes you have to tweak things, and that was the case with the transition template," he continued.

"Other matters needed to be asked about, and we are very aware of the impact of a change, but we made the decision to adjust the template.

"For example, we now make an explicit distinction between what is essential for the transition, what needs to be discussed and resolved beforehand, and what can be discussed and resolved after the transition," he explained.

Discussing the impact of this on the DNB's discourse with pension funds, Dijckmeester claimed it was "not possible" to prevent friction entirely, but understanding each other's position could help "mitigate damage" to the relationship.

"We all have our own responsibility in this transition," he added.

Currently, the supervisory authority is reviewing the transition plans of around thirty funds.

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