April 2022
22Apr

Large Dutch pension schemes edge closer to indexation

The funding ratios of the Netherlands’ largest five pension funds have reached their highest levels since 2008. Civil service scheme ABP recorded the largest rise to 117.4% in March as it benefited from its relatively low interest rate hedge, bringing indexation within reach for the fund. ABP’s funding ratio has risen by 6.8 percentage points since the start of the year while the other four large sector schemes also saw their funding ratios rise by 1.5 to 4.1 percentage points....

April 22, 2022
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11Apr

The Danish Pension System: Design, Performance, and Challenges

By Andersen, Hougaard Jensen & Rangvid The need for pension reform is widely discussed against the backdrop of falling fertility rates and rising longevity. These developments challenge pension systems which in many countries already encounter problems with pension adequacy and financial sustainability. In the debate, reference is often made to Denmark as a model for pension system reform. This book offers the first coherent and in-depth description and analysis of the Danish pension system; its structure and performance. As is well-known to...

April 11, 2022
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06Apr

Major reform of the Dutch Pension system

On March 30, 2022 the Dutch government submitted draft legislation to reform the Dutch pension system, (the Bill) which is expected to come into effect on January 1, 2023. If the Dutch House of Representatives approves the proposal, it will go to the Senate where it is expected to pass. The deadline for transitioning to the new scheme is January 1, 2027 at the latest. This change will impact every employer with a pension scheme in place. In practice,...

April 6, 2022
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February 2022
16Feb

Dutch pension fund PFZW to end investment in some fossil fuel companies

PFZW, the Dutch health care workers' pension fund, on Wednesday said it would disinvest from any fossil fuel company by 2024 that doesn't have a "convincing and verifiable" strategy to reach the goals laid out in the Paris Climate Change agreement. The decision by PFZW, with 278 billion euros ($316 billion) in assets, follows similar moves by other asset managers to overhaul the way they invest as part of a global efforts to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Some have...

February 16, 2022
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October 2021
27Oct

Fondo ABP desinvertirá de productores de combustible fósil

El fondo de pensiones más grande de Holanda anunció hoy que dejará de invertir en empresas que producen combustibles fósiles y señaló que la decisión, reclamada desde hace años por muchos miembros del fondo, se debía a reportes climáticos recientes de Naciones Unidas y la Agencia Internacional de la Energía. El fondo ABP es un adinerado e influyente inversionista que gestiona los ahorros para la jubilación de más de 3 millones de trabajadores holandeses de educación y del gobierno. Tiene...

October 27, 2021
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26Oct

Dutch pension giant spurns fossil fuels as funds shift before COP26

Dutch pension fund ABP will divest 15 billion euros ($17.5 billion) of investments in fossil fuel producers by 2023, it said on Tuesday, as many of the world's biggest investors set out new climate policies ahead of next week's COP26 summit. Read also UK pension schemes are funding more emissions than the entire UK’s carbon footprint With policymakers gearing up for the talks aimed at accelerating action on global warming, financial firms from across the world are announcing new steps to...

October 26, 2021
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11Oct

AFM: Dutch pension funds urged to speed up SFDR implementation

Dutch pension funds must speed up the implementation of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), according to financial market regulator AFM. But for the time being, compliance will not yet rigidly be enforced, said AFM director Laura van Geest. “The pension sector is less far in implementing the SFDR than the asset management sector since many pension funds have chosen to [temporarily] opt-out of the SFDR,” Van Geest said, speaking at the annual congress of trade publication Pensioen Pro. Most of...

October 11, 2021
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September 2021
24Sep

Dutch pension funds can retain buffers in new DC system

Dutch pension funds that opt for the so-called flexible arrangement in the new pension system will be allowed to have buffers, according to a revised draft version of the new pension law that’s yet to be discussed in parliament. Under the original version of the law, only pension funds opting for the so-called “solidary pension arrangement” were allowed to retain buffers. This prompted a demand from several company pension funds that prefer the more individual “flexible pension arrangement” to also...

September 24, 2021
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09Sep

APG launches first index funds to tap Dutch sustainability drive

APG Asset Management, the largest pension fund provider in the Netherlands, said on Wednesday it would begin offering index products and said its fund clients had pledged an initial 1 billion euros ($1.19 billion) to a low-carbon strategy. APG's asset management unit oversees around 613 billion euros on behalf of pension schemes and companies, serving 4.7 million members in sectors from cleaning to construction. In partnership with index provider Qontigo, part of Deutsche Boerse, and with BlackRock, the world's biggest asset...

September 9, 2021
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June 2021
16Jun

​Pension investors press companies over Myanmar human rights risks

Swedish pension fund AP7, the Dutch architects’ pension fund, Velliv and other European pension funds have signed a joint declaration urging companies with business in Myanmar to take action, given the risk of human rights violations under the military dictatorship. Led by Norwegian asset manager Storebrand and three other organisations, the declaration called on firms to map their activities in Myanmar in this regard, and use their leverage in support of human rights – among other things. Kamil Zabielski, head of...

June 16, 2021
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