After years of preparation: the House of Representatives supports the introduction of a new pension system

In recent years there has been much discussion about the law that will allow the transition to a more flexible pension system. Even the House of Representatives has thought about it for a long time. MPs talked for more than a hundred hours about the colossal and complicated law. Most of the opposition parties strongly oppose the new system.

Retirement pots

The coalition stressed that the system can still be fixed in the coming years, even if the law is passed. In principle, pension funds must switch to the new system by 1 January 2027 at the latest.

The current pension system is no longer sustainable, according to many parties. The new system must be more future-proof, more flexible and, according to the proponents, better suited to the labor market. There will be individual pension funds and the benefit can be increased earlier if the stock market performs well and can be reduced more quickly if there is a headwind.

Unfair redistribution

The opposition is concerned about the move to a new method of paying premiums and the “incorporation” of pension funds into the new system. Critics also fear an unfair redistribution of the approximately 1.5 trillion euros of pension assets.

An important condition for approval by the opposition parties PvdA and GroenLinks is, among other things, that half a million people who are currently working but do not accrue a pension will do so within five years. This not only affects the self-employed, but also many people in paid employment. PvdA and GroenLinks also wanted the minimum retirement age to be raised to 18. I am now 21 years old. Today, the majority of the House voted in favor.

Benefit of the doubt

PvdA member of parliament Henk Nijboer calls the new system “an improvement over the current system, which has been undercut for years”. “We will vote in favour. More and more people have not accrued a pension, this is a big problem. This will change”, also says Nijboer on behalf of GroenLinks.

The House of Representatives will vote on the law on Thursday.