The Dutch government has published a consultation online on the pension agreement, which is set to overhaul the country’s pension system.

The consultation on the ‘future pensions bill’ is open to anyone, and will run until 12 February 2021. The consultation describes the new rules for occupational pensions, and with the responses, the government plans to improve the pension bill.

Currently, legislation is expected to come into effect in January 2022, with the bill submitted to the lower house in June 2021, and then the social partners will have until 2026 to transfer to the new system.

Commenting, Achmea Pensioenservices, legal policy adviser, Leo Blom said: “Today the Ministry of Social Affairs published the consultation version of the bill for the future pensions. It contains details of the new pension system. We are pleased with this step. In the near future, we will be busy making further analyses.”

However, he said that Achmea thinks the current timeline for the bill to be passed into law is “very ambitious”.

After a lengthy debate, the pension agreement was reached in the summer. The reforms will see all defined benefit style pension schemes become defined contribution-based collective schemes.

The government believes employees and retirees will get a “greater insight” into their accumulated pension capital under the new system, and a “realistic expectation” of their benefits.

Pension entitlements in the current system will be transferred over to the new system, and the need for funding ratios will be abandoned and reliance on interest rates will diminish. However, it said the new system would see collective investment retained.

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