In particular, the parties still had doubts about the effective date of the reforms. But to allay those concerns, Schouten has already promised to push back the 2027 deadline for pension funds by a year. “It seems that a number of coalition parties that seemed to go a bit off the rails are sitting neatly around like frogs in a bucket,” says pensions expert Tim Burggraaf of EY.
However, not all risks are over yet, warns the pension expert. “You see it’s all going a little too fast. Another rabbit has come out of the hat, because a two-thirds majority may be needed for this law, because politicians also suffer when it comes to their pensions. Then we need a two-thirds majority in both chambers. The piquant detail now is that politicians can keep their pension, while all other Dutch people have to switch to the riskier system.’
The Burggraaf also notes that contradictory motions have been tabled. ‘There has been a motion to ensure people work longer, but also a motion to ensure people can retire earlier. And both have been recommended by the minister and are in danger of being adopted. This shows that people also listen badly to each other.’
Period still tight
Despite the fact that pension funds won’t have to implement reforms until 2028, Burggraaf sees that changes are short on time. The law is due to enter into force on July 1 this year. Furthermore, by the beginning of 2025, the social partners must reach an agreement on the changes. ‘That won’t change. They then have one more year to implement it, which is mainly on the side of De Nederlandsche Bank, because otherwise they would receive all applications at the same time.’
The amendments have yet to be incorporated into law. ‘The minister has now promised that it will be introduced into pension funds a year later. But he also said that he might be able to postpone it by another year until 2029,” the pension expert said.