Two Dutch pension companies, MN and PGGM have announced they are going to collaborate in the field of IT.

The two, which are responsible for the pension funds PMT and PFZW, believe that the pension sector is facing major challenges in adapting IT systems and pension administration to new legislation and regulations and in further developing the services offered to members and employers.

In the long run, both aim to achieve cost reductions through economies of scale, in combination with a higher quality of service to participants and employers. Moreover, the cooperation should contribute to a smooth transition to the new pension contracts, they said.

In concrete terms, this collaboration will enable MN to use, in particular, the back-office applications that PGGM has developed under the name MAP. For MN, using MAP means accelerated implementation of the long-term renewal program for the pension administration.

The agreements are aimed at making MAP operational and functional on MN's systems over the next two years. The collaboration will be evaluated in the interim for sufficient progress. If this project is successfully completed, PGGM and MN may explore further cooperation in pension administration.

The boards of PFZW and PMT support the joining of forces of their pension administration organisations. They point out that all pension providers are faced with the task of adapting the IT systems and pension administration to new legislation and regulations and of further improving the services to participants and employers.

PGGM CEO, Edwin Velzel, said: “The pension sector manages a large public good: a system that provides millions of Dutch people with an adequate income when they no longer work. It is very important that we as a sector make a smooth transition to the new system. PGGM is naturally happy to contribute to this. We therefore share available expertise and technology with MN, which, like us, is committed to the flawless execution of a collectively arranged pension.”

MN chairman of the board, Norbert Hoogers, added that the collaboration meets its ambitions for accelerating pension innovation and collaboration in the sector.

“We can now make use of the knowledge and experience already gained in the development of MAP. As a result, we achieve a shorter lead time, solid quality of service to participants and employers and, in the long run, a reduction in costs. Moreover, the initiative prepares us better for the implementation of the new pension contract and it can be a prelude to more sectoral cooperation.”

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