Frequently asked questions

Purchasing a pension in the average earnings scheme

• Can I purchase a pension in the average earnings scheme?

  If you have previously accrued pension capital in the Astellas Pension Fund defined contribution (DC) scheme, you can choose each year to use your DC-capital to purchase a pension in the fund’s average earning scheme. You will receive a letter about this.

• How do I know if I have accrued capital in the defined contribution scheme?

  If you are a member of the defined contribution (DC) scheme, you will find the accrued amount in your Uniform Pension Overview (UPO). You can download your latest pension overview from Mijn Pensioencijfers (My Pension Figures), the secure environment of the Astellas Pension Fund. You can log in with your customer number.

• When can I purchase a pension in the average earnings scheme?

  Each year, the pension fund will send you a letter about this option and specify the period within which you must make a choice.

Pension Overview

• What is a pension overview?

  The pension overview lists your pension accrual with the Astellas Pension Fund, for yourself and for any surviving dependants. All pension funds and insurers use the same model for this overview. For that reason it is also called the Uniform Pensioenoverzicht (Uniform Pension Overview). The amounts on the pension overview are easy to add up.

• What is listed on the pension overview?

  In the pension overview you can see what you have accrued in pension up to January of this year with the Astellas Pension Fund. Changes occurring on or after 1 January of this year will not be listed in this year's pension overview, but in next year's. You can also find the following information in the pension overview:

  • The basic details for you and your partner;
  • Information about your accrued pension;
  • Information about the pension to be reached;
  • An explanation of the pension overview.
• When do I receive a pension overview?
  • As a participant in the fund, you receive an annual pension overview from the Astellas Pension Fund.
  • If you are retired, you receive an annual pension overview from the Astellas Pension Fund.
  • If you are no longer a participant in the Astellas Pension Fund, you will receive a pension overview from the Astellas Pension Fund at least once every five years. A new pension overview is available online each year. You can download this through the secure environment of this website: Mijn pensioencijfers (‘My pension figures').

Mijnpensioenoverzicht.nl

• I see new amounts. Has my pension scheme been modified?

  No, the scheme has not been modified. What you see is an estimate based on the current scheme.

• What am I supposed to do with the estimated pension amounts?

  You can use the middle amount to check whether the expected pension is enough for you to live on. The other two amounts indicate the direction in which your pension may develop in a very good or very bad economic situation.

  Your pension will never suddenly be equal to the left amount. If the economy slows down for an extended period of time, the expected pension (the middle amount) will gradually become lower. It is therefore a good idea to check your pension from time to time (e.g. every year), so you can see in which direction your pension is developing.

• How likely is it that I will receive the lowest amount?

  Economists have considered what might happen in future and have come up with 2000 possible scenarios. In those scenarios, interest rates are high or low and investments are either up or down. And prices either are or are not increasing. We then calculated how large your pension would be in each scenario.

  In 5% of the situations, the amount calculated was lower than the amount if things go worse than expected. There is only a very small chance that you will receive exactly the lowest amount. The chance that you will receive more than the lowest amount is 95%.

• How likely is it that I will receive the middle amount?

  The answer may be odd, as the chances are very small. Economists have considered what might happen in future and have come up with 2000 possible scenarios. In those scenarios, interest rates are high or low and investments are either up or down. And prices either are or are not increasing. We then calculated how large your pension would be in each scenario.

  The average outcome is shown in the middle at the top. At this time, there is a 50% chance that your pension will be smaller. And at this time, there is a 50% chance that your pension will be bigger. There is only a very small chance that you will receive exactly this amount. We simply want to show you the direction in which your pension may develop during an extended period of good or bad economic conditions.

• How likely is it that I will receive the highest amount?

  Economists have considered what might happen in future and have come up with 2000 possible scenarios. In those scenarios, interest rates are high or low and investments are either up or down. And prices either are or are not increasing. We then calculated how large your pension would be in each scenario.

  In 5% of the situations, the amount calculated was higher than the amount if things go better than expected. There is only a very small chance that you will receive exactly this highest amount. The chance that you will receive less than the highest amount is currently 95%.

Stable or variable pension