How do you accrue pension?

A. State pension (AOW)
AOW is the legal state pension from the government. You build this up in about 50 years if you live or work in the Netherlands during these years. The state pension from the government commences at the age of 66 and 10 months (2023). This age will increase step by step. If life expectancy continues to increase, so will the state retirement age. Read more about this on SVB.nl. There you will also find the amounts and more information on the state pension.

Please note
Did you not always live or work in the Netherlands? Then you will probably receive less state pension.

B. Pension that you accrue through you work
You are accruing this through your employer. Each year you accrue part of your pension. Once a year you will receive a Uniform Pension Overview (UPO). In this pension overview you will see:

• the pension you have accrued until now;
• the pension you can achieve if you remain employed with the company until retirement;
• the pension your partner will receive after your death;
• the pension your children will receive after your death.

Also check mijnpensioenoverzicht.nl (only available in Dutch). There you will find an overview of your state pension and all your pensions that you have accrued through work. There you will also find the net amounts.

C. Pension that you arrange yourself
You may supplement your state and other pension yourself, for example by savings or by saving in a blocked account with your bank. Or by an insurance, such as an annuity. Whether you consider this necessary, depends on your personal situation and wishes. A financial advisor can help you make choices.

You accrue pension under an average salary plan

Each year you accrue a part of your pension over part of your gross salary in that year. This is called an average salary plan (‘middelloonregeling’). You do not accrue pension over your entire salary. For we take into account the pension you will later receive from the government. The part of your salary over which you do not accrue pension is called the franchise . The remaining part of your salary is your pension base over which you accrue pension. You accrue pension over a maximum gross salary of € 128,810.- annually (2023).

Your total pension is the sum of all those years. We will add your yearly increases, but only if our financial situation allows it. This is called indexation. You will later receive your pension each month, for as long as you live.

Your accrual rate is 1.54%

Every year you accrue a part of your pension over a part of your gross salary in that year.

First, we deduct the franchise from your salary. This is because you will also receive state pension (AOW) from the government. We take that into account in your pension accrual. The remaining salary is your pension base, on which you accrue 1.54% retirement pension. This is the pension accrual rate in 2023.

Do you work part-time? Then your salary is probably lower than if you work full-time. If that is the case, you will accrue less pension. You will also pay less contribution.

A legally stipulated maximum salary applies. Is your gross full-time salary higher than € 128,810.- annually (2023)? Then you will not accrue any pension on this higher salary. You will also no longer pay any contribution. If you work part-time, we calculate the amount over your part-time percentage.

An example
Your gross salary amounts to € 26,322.- per year. The franchise amounts to € 16,322.- annually (2023). So you accrue pension over € 10,000.-. This is your pension base. On that amount you accrue 1.54% retirement pension. This is € 154.- in that year. The retirement pension you will later receive is the sum of all your working years. We will add your yearly increases, but only if the financial situation of the pension fund allows it. This is called indexation.

You and your employer pay for your pension together

Each month you pay a contribution towards your pension. Your employer also pays a contribution. With our pension fund your share of the contribution is 25%. Your employer pays 75% of the contribution. Your salary statement states the amount you pay yourself.