The Dutch government has postponed the introduction of a lump-sum pension payment for the eighth time.

The latest delay was announced in the government’s Spring Memorandum, in which it confirmed that the introduction of the Lump-Sum Payment Reform Act is being postponed from 1 July 2026 to 1 January 2029.

When introduced, the legislation will allow pension participants to withdraw up to 10 per cent of their accrued pension as a lump sum at retirement.

Although the Dutch House of Representatives approved the reform in 2024, it is yet to be approved by the Senate.

The latest delay is thought to be connected to the ongoing reform of Dutch pensions as set out by the Future Pensions Act (Wtp).

According to Pensioenfonds ING, the Senate wishes to limit the workload for pension funds and administrative bodies while the Wtp reform takes place.

All schemes must transfer to their new scheme under the Wtp by 1 January 2028.

“By delaying the lump-sum payment until after the transition to the new rules, pension funds will only have to implement it once. This will save a great deal of extra workload during what is already a busy period due to the new pension rules,” the pension fund explained.

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