Major pension reform almost certain to pass Parliament with amendments adopted today

A law comprised of a significant set of pension reforms will almost certainly garner enough support in both the Tweede Kamer and the Eerste Kamer to win passage. The law authorizes an overhaul of the pension system to make it more flexible and more future-proof. It is one of the largest social reforms in decades. To obtain a majority in the Eerste Kamer, the Dutch Senate, the Cabinet needed to win the backing of the left wing opposition parties, PvdA and GroenLinks.

Those parties hinted that they wanted to support the law, provided the Tweede Kamer, the lower house, gives majority backing to several important amendments proposed by those parties. A majority voted in favor of three key amendments from the left wing parties, setting the stage for a full roll call vote in the Tweede Kamer on Thursday.

The Senate parties will soon also be able to vote differently, but it is expected that Carola Schouten, the minister in charge of pension policy, will eventually get the law through the Senate. It is important for the Cabinet that the law, which would take effect on 1 July, is dealt with quickly. The provincial government elections will be held in May, which determines the composition of the Eerste Kamer. The coalition parties are expected to lose seats in the upcoming election.

Minister Schouten already adjusted the law during the debate, after the Tweede Kamer submitted no fewer than 45 amendment proposals. Votes on those amendments were important to keep support for parties such as PvdA, GroenLinks, SGP and Volt. In this case, the Tweede Kamer also took longer than usual. After the votes on the various motions and amendments, the parties have another two days to come to a decision about how they will vote on the law. The rest of the opposition is extremely critical of the law.

Three proposals are of great importance to the PvdA and GroenLinks. Working people must be able to start building up a pension from the age of 18, instead of from the age of 21. The waiting period must be abolished, so that temporary employees can immediately accrue pension. The last proposal regulates a duty of care, as a result of which the government must announce measures if the number of people accruing pension does not grow fast enough. The two left-wing parties have already indicated that they are willing to give the law the benefit of the doubt, but have mentioned support for their own proposals as a condition. The SGP will decide later this week, but the party's amendment proposals also received enough support.

The Tweede Kamer also voted in favor of a motion in which PvdA member Henk Nijboer called on the Cabinet to come up with a new scheme for people with a physically demanding profession. The current scheme to allow these people stop work earlier will expire in 2025 and, according to the Social Democrat, falls short of their needs.