Despite all the objections from unions and politicians, the revised pension scheme—based on the Future Pensions Act—is coming. Pension funds must have transitioned by January 1, 2028, but many funds are doing so earlier.
This includes the General Pension Fund for Public Employees, ABP, the largest player in the Dutch pension market. This fund for government and education, which also manages the pensions of TU/e staff, will make the transition in just under a year, on January 1, 2027.
Aging population
Until now, working people contributed to a large pension fund from which the retiring generation received funds. But this is becoming increasingly difficult to defend due to the aging population.
The number of working people is no longer proportional to the growing number of retirees. Who can guarantee that the bottom of the pot will not be in sight when the current workers reach retirement age? Time for an individual pension, a personal piggy bank.
Moreover, the principle was that you would stay with the same employer and therefore with the same pension fund for your entire career: the further along in your career, the more pension you relatively accrued with every euro you contributed. That principle is no longer tenable: we are constantly job-hopping and therefore regularly switch pension funds.
Personal pot
The most important change in the new scheme is that you will now build up a pension for yourself, instead of for the collective. The pension fund will continue to invest your contributions for you, but the results will be returned to your personal pot. And no longer to the large pool of all the fund participants.
This has a disadvantage for employees who have been building up pensions for many years under the old system: when their pension contributions need to yield a higher return, the rules suddenly change. And this despite the fact that they have faithfully contributed to the collective for all those years. This is unfair, as the government agrees.
Compensation
People aged 40 to 68 who are accruing pension will therefore receive compensation. After all, they have less time than the younger working population to make their own euros earn sufficient returns before they retire. The reference date age-wise is January 1, 2027, so don't worry if you still need to turn 40 this year.
To qualify for the compensation, you must ensure that you are still accruing pension with ABP on December 31, 2026. Consider this if you are thinking about switching to a sector with a different pension fund: it may be wise to postpone that plan for a year (see box).
Smart job hopping
Clever workers over 40 can ensure they receive compensation twice. Suppose you are currently with a pension fund that has already switched and compensated, such as the PFZW health and welfare fund. Then, through a clever career change, you can switch to a pension fund that only compensates next year, such as ABP. You will then receive the compensation twice.
If you want to pull this trick as a TU/e employee, you'll have to wait until January 2027, after you've received the compensation, and then switch to, for example, Alliance, the pension fund for employees of Nestlé and Nespresso. They won't switch until January 1, 2028. Perhaps redundantly; to get this benefit, you'll have to change jobs and leave the university.
A risk
And note: this also works the other way around. Anyone who switches from TU/e—and therefore the ABP fund—to a sector whose pension fund has already transitioned to the new system, such as the fund for metal and technology PMT, will miss out on the compensation. You'll also no longer receive it from ABP. This is a risk that you are perhaps not aware of, and it could cost you a lot of money. It's therefore worthwhile to time any job changes carefully over the next two years.
ABP spokesperson Peter Davina confirms the above: depending on when you change jobs, it is indeed possible that you will receive double compensation, or none at all. He does point out that in the latter case, a participant can voluntarily continue their pension accrual with ABP and thus retain the right to compensation. If you want to voluntarily continue your contribution to the fund, you have to make sure to let ABP know within nine months after your switch.
How much and when
Want to know if you'll receive compensation? Then fill out the ABP compensation check. Note that the amount will not be deposited into your bank account, but will go into your pension fund. The pension fund will only know the exact amount of compensation after January 1, 2027. This depends on their financial position at the time the fund is transferred.
It's also uncertain whether you will receive the full compensation at once. This depends on ABP's coverage ratio. A coverage ratio of 100 percent means that for every 100 euros the fund has to pay out in pension, 100 euros is held in reserve. In November 2025, ABP's coverage ratio was 122.7 percent.
If this coverage ratio is less than 107 percent on January 1, 2027, you will receive the compensation in installments. If the funding ratio is at least 107 percent or higher, you will receive the entire amount immediately.
Supplement
ABP has drawn up a transition plan for the transition to the new system. In addition to compensation, this plan includes another compensatory measure: the so-called supplement. This applies to everyone who is accruing pension with ABP and is between 35 and 44 years old on January 1, 2027. Some of them—those between the ages of 40 and 44—will therefore be eligible for both compensation and a supplement.
As with the compensation, ABP will not announce the amount of the supplement until 2027. The fund is also keeping its options open: it will only pay out the supplement if the coverage ratio on the first day of 2027 is at least 105 percent. You can use the compensation check to find out whether you are entitled to it in that case.
This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor
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