February 2020

27Feb

The Netherlands: Pensions funds will change risk-free rate – Rabobank

The Dutch newspaper Telegraaf reported this morning that all parties involved in the pension reform discussion agreed on changing the risk-free rate term structure for Dutch pension funds. The pension agreement has been redefined and only one new pension contract remains. Bas van Zanden, Senior Pension Analyst at Rabobank, expects a decrease in demand for hedging by Dutch pension funds. Key quotes “The pension contract will split up all pension funds into an: Accrual phase – Every...

February 27, 2020
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12Feb

ABP: accelerating sustainability with investments

Dutch pension fund Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP has expressed a desire to break away from ‘dirty’ investments and focus on sustainability instead. In a press release on the company’s website, ABP set out its goal to reduce its investment portfolio in high CO2 emitting industries (coal mines and tar sands) by 40% by 2025. Concurrently, the company intends to invest €15bn in sustainable energy instead. With an overall strategy aimed at gradually weaning off companies that use fossil fuels to...

February 12, 2020
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03Feb

Netherlands’ $515 billion pension fund to accelerate cuts to fossil fuel investments

The Netherlands’ biggest pension fund, ABP, said on Monday it aims to reduce the carbon footprint of its asset portfolio by 40% from 2015 levels by 2025. ABP, which already set a target to cut the carbon footprint of its assets by 25% from 2015 levels by this year, follows moves by other leading funds - notably Norway’s $1.1 trillion sovereign wealth fund - to divest heavy polluting energy companies from its portfolio. ABP manages 465 billion euros ($515 billion) in...

February 3, 2020
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January 2020

30Jan

Dutch sector schemes active on online comms to cut costs

Several large Dutch sector schemes are actively trying to persuade their participants to pass on their email addresses in order to save on communication costs and for sustainability reasons. They are finding, however, that the process is laborious, and that they have a long way to go before they no longer need the postman and can save millions of euros through digital correspondence. Although most schemes already have an online platform and prefer digital communication, the main hurdle is...

January 30, 2020
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October 2019

18Oct

Dutch pension pots stand out among global retirement funds

The world’s rich nations face a double-whammy, with ageing populations meaning more retirees — just as low and negative interest rates make it harder for pension funds to secure the investment returns needed to fill up their coffers. Read also PLSA 2019: Fintech could play key role in decumulation phase Pensions typically have three pillars: a basic state payout designed to prevent people falling into poverty once they stop work; a larger slice related to lifetime earnings; and voluntary top-ups...

October 18, 2019
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September 2019

20Sep

Family and Government Insurance: Wage, Earnings, and Income Risks in the Netherlands and the U.S.

By Mariacristina De Nardi Giulio, Fella Marike Knoef, Gonzalo Paz-Pardo Raun Van Ooijen We document new facts on the distributions of male wages, male earnings, and household earnings and income (before and after taxes) in the Netherlands and the United States. We find that, in both countries, wages display rich dynamics, including substantial asymmetries and nonlinearities by age and previous earnings levels. Individual-level male wage and earnings risk is relatively high for younger and older people, and for...

September 20, 2019
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June 2019

10Jun

Netherlands. What does the new pension agreement really mean?

Agreement on reforming the Dutch pension system has been 10 years in the making, and still needs fleshing out in detail – a process which is likely to take several more years at least. Social affairs minister Wouter Koolmees has said the plan for the transition to a new pensions system should be completed by the end of 2020 and that the cabinet aims to complete the legal framework for system reform by the start of 2022. However, there...

June 10, 2019
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April 2019

23Apr

Dutch Pension Funds Rebound from December’s Santa Claus Blues

After a rough 2018, Dutch pension funds are finding redemption in the markets. Civil service plan ABP ($484 billion) and health care retirement fund PFZW ($243.6 billion) felt the sting of a cold, winter gust that knocked assets around. The two plans suffered losses (-2.3% and -0.4%, respectively) in 2018, sinking their funding ratios a bit. Amid this year’s cold, wintry gusts, first quarter assets showed signs of recovery. ABP returned 8.2% and PFZW gained 8.5% in the period...

April 23, 2019
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22Apr

Fair Pensions

By Ilja Boelaars (University of Chicago) & Dirk Broeders (De Nederlandsche Bank; Maastricht University) This paper examines the allocation of market risk in a general class of collective pension arrangements: Collective Defined Contribution (CDC) schemes. In a CDC scheme participants collectively share funding risk through benefit level adjustments. There is a concern that, if not well designed, CDC schemes are unfair and will lead to an unintended redistribution of wealth between participants and, in particular, between generations. We define a...

April 22, 2019
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September 2018

24Sep

APG’s sustainable investments grow €2.2bn

Dutch pension provider APG has seen its investments in sustainable real estate and infrastructure grow €1.3bn and €900m in one year. According to APG, which manages €482bn in pension assets, the growth is proof sustainable investments yield long-term returns with the sustainable real estate portfolio grew to €21.7bn and infrastructure to €2.3bn. This also contributes to the objectives of pension scheme APB, APG’s largest client, who invested €58bn in business that helps meet United Nation’s sustainable development goals by 2020. APG uses...

September 24, 2018
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