More than one million Dutch retirees have received a higher pension payment at the end of February, a result of transitioning to the new pension system.

As of 1 January 2026, more than half of workers and retirees have been moved over to the new system. According to the Dutch Federation of Pension Funds (Pensioenfederatie), the average increase is provisionally estimated to be around 14 per cent, but varies by pension fund, and in some cases, by age group.

Pensioenfederaite chair, Ger Jaarsma, said: “The higher benefits show how the reformed pension system leads to a better pension for participants. This has a positive outcome both for retirees and for people who are still building up their pension.”

Under the reformed system, pension funds can better tailor their investment risk to different age groups. For older participants, investments are made more cautiously to protect the accumulated assets.

For younger participants, more risk can be taken, which is expected to lead to higher returns over the longer term.

In addition, funds can operate with lower buffers than under the old system, meaning the surplus buffer can be distributed between participants.

The federation explained, however, that buffers remain necessary in the new system to absorb fluctuations in the financial markets, although reductions in pension payments can never be completely ruled out.

Those participants who have not yet retired and have transitioned will also soon receive individual insight into their pension capital.

Commenting, Dutch Pension Fund for Healthcare and Welfare (PFZW) chair of the board, Joanne Kellerman, said: “We now have a pension system that is more future-proof, in which pensions can grow more easily in good times while still being well protected in bad times.

“It is very positive that we were able to transition to the new system from a favourable financial position at the end of 2025 and that we can increase the pensions of our beneficiaries by 12 per cent. Active participants and deferred members will need to be a little patient; they will receive the second calculation of their future pension entitlements between mid-March and mid-May.”

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