You are accruing a pension with Astellas Pension Fund. Changes have been made with effect from 1 January 2018 and the pension regulations have been amended. The main changes are:
- Retirement age is being raised to your 68th birthday.
- The accrual rate for 2018 is 1.61%.
- Your accrued pension is not being increased (no indexation).
Retirement age is being raised to your 68th birthday.
We are living longer on average in the Netherlands. This means that pensions are also being paid for a longer period, which is very expensive. The government is therefore raising the age at which people receive their first state pension. The state pension age is being raised incrementally to 67 years and three months (in 2022).
The social partners (trade unions and employer) have requested Astellas Pension Fund to increase retirement age to 68.
How does this affect the pension that you have already accrued?
The retirement age for the pension that you have already accrued was set at 67. We are now converting this pension to the new retirement age of 68. The conversion does not cost you anything but also generates no money for you. We call this an ‘actuarially neutral’ conversion.
How does this affect the pension that you will still accrue?
The increase in retirement age means that you will be able to accrue pension for one year longer in future. Your pension will therefore be higher from a retirement age of 68 than it would be at 67. The change to the start date of the retirement pension does not affect the amount of the partner’s pension. This is pension for your partner in the event of your death.
How does this affect the start date of your pension?
You decide for yourself when you wish to retire. You do not have to wait until your 68th birthday. You will automatically receive a notice several months before your state pension age. You can also indicate that you wish to retire early. The earliest possible date is on your 57th birthday.
The accrual rate for 2018 is 1.61%
The current scheme has been funded on the basis of the CDC (collective defined contribution) method since 1 January 2015. This means that the social partners have entered into agreements for the period from 2015-2019 regarding a fixed pension contribution that is paid by you and your employer. The pension accrual that can be granted on the basis of this contribution is calculated each year. Our target accrual rate is 1.875% per year. This rate cannot be higher because 1.875% per year is the maximum permitted for tax purposes at a retirement age of 68. The pension contribution paid to the fund for 2018 is too low to achieve the intended accrual of 1.875%. Based on the pension contribution paid to the fund, the Board of the Astellas Pension Fund can grant accrual of 1.61% for 2018.
How does this affect your pension accrual?
This means you will accrue less pension than the maximum permitted for tax purposes in 2018. We expect that your pension accrual for 2019 will also be lower than 1.875%.
Your accrued pension is not being increased
As money usually becomes worth slightly less each year, we try to increase your accrued pension each year (we call this indexation). Unfortunately, our financial situation does not allow for an increase in 2018. We also do not expect to be able to increase your pension in the coming years. On the other hand, a reduction is not necessary.
How can you see what these changes will mean for you?
We cannot yet show you the exact amounts that will apply to your pension. This information will become available during 2018 as soon as the new retirement age and new accrual rate have been processed in our accounts.
The Uniform Pension Overview that you receive in 2019 (with the position as at 31 December 2018) will show you what these changes mean for your pension. To obtain an overview, you can also log in with your DigiD to the secure Mijn Pensioencijfers (My Pension Figures) environment or www.mijnpensioenoverzicht.nl.