How certain is your pension?

The accrual and payment of pension extend over a very long period. The period from the start of the accrual until the last pension payment may be as long as 80 years. The world changes over such a period, giving rise to risks that threaten your pension. The risks may lead to a deficit.

Our fund tries to prepare itself for the risks that could threaten your pension. In the past, this has not always worked out well, due to the rapid rise in life expectancy for example. That rise exceeded what we had taken into account. If members live longer on average, their pensions have to be paid out for longer. In that case the pension fund needs more money than initially accounted for.

The value of pensions is also affected by the interest rate. Pension administrators estimate the amount of money they will need to pay out the pensions. The lower the interest rate is, the more money Astellas Pension Fund will need available to pay out all of the pensions when the time comes. The pensions become expensive if interest rates remain low for long periods of time.

Investment results may also fail to meet expectations. For that reason, Astellas Pension Fund ensures that the investments are spread over several investment types. Profits on investments can make up for losses in other investments. A pension fund or insurer can hedge the investment risks, but this leads to costs being incurred.

There are more risks that Astellas Pension Fund has to take into account to protect your pension as best as possible. Astellas Pension Fund has to manage these risks. 

More information

The regulations set out precisely what you will receive in our pension scheme. The regulations can be downloaded here (in Dutch).