Slower increase in retirement age in leaked pension agreement: report

Dutch trade unions and employers reached an agreement on a new pension system, according to a draft document the Telegraaf managed to get hold of. One of the main points is slowing down the increase of retirement age, according to the newspaper.

The trade unions and employers agreed that the increase of retirement age to 67 years must be introduced more slowly. In this draft agreement, retirement age will be 67 years in 2025, instead of in 2021. The parties also want to calculate the increase differently in the future and for more early retirement schemes to be made possible.

Agreements were also made on a new pension system. The biggest change is the abolishment of 'guaranteed pension'. In the current pension system, you can agree on a fixed pension payout, but your premium is variable. Under the new proposed system your premium will be fixed, but your payout when you actually retire is uncertain. For example, if the funds have too little cash when you retire, you will get less. The advantage is that increasing pensions to correct for inflation will be easier for pension funds, as they will have far less stringent obligations and can therefore spend money more easily.

The unions also agreed to abolish the average premium under "many restrictive conditions", according to the Telegraaf. The average premium means that young people and older people pay about the same premiums for their pension. If that is abolished, young people will pay less and older people more.

The trade unions also want all self-employed people to fall under the compulsory pension, though there should also be opportunities for freelancers to get out again. How exactly this will be arranged is not yet clear.

According to RTL Nieuws, these plans are contrary to what is stated in the Rutte III government agreement on some points. Minister Wouter Koolmees of Social Affairs refused to comment on Wednesday.