Dutch pension fund PostNL saw its policy funding ratio increase from 134.7 per cent at the end of December 2022 to 136.1 per cent at the end of March 2023, its quarterly report has revealed.

Its current funding ratio also rose slightly during the quarter, from 129.5 per cent at the end of December to 131.3 per cent at the end of March.

PostNL primarily attributed the increase in its funding ratio to the positive returns on its equity investments in the first quarter.

The current funding ratio is therefore lower than the policy funding ratio.

According to PostNL’s previous quarterly report, its current funding ratio was 130.6 per cent.

However, it has now revealed that the value of its investments at the end of 2022 was lower than initially thought.

Its current funding ratio at the end of December was ultimately 1.1 percentage points lower at 129.5 per cent.

In December, PostNL increased pensions by 10 per cent, which is why the current funding ratio in Q4 2022 fell from 140 per cent to 129.5 per cent, and the pension fund stated that it was still catching up on that decline.

“But more happened in the first quarter of 2023,” the pension fund stated.

“After all, there will be new rules for pensions in the Netherlands. What those new rules will look like is set out in the Future Pensions Act (Wtp). That law is not there yet, it is still in the Senate. But preparations have already been made for when the law comes into force.

“The social partners have opted for a solidarity contribution scheme for the future. They also expressed their intention to transfer all pensions to the new system (incorporation).

“As the board of Pensioenfonds PostNL, we believe that this agreement is good for all parties.”

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