In the negotiations on pensions, the possibility of releasing the discount rate in the future is also being considered. The actuarial interest rate determines how much money pension funds must have in cash to pay the pensions in the future.
Last June, employers, employees and the government signed an agreement on pensions. It states, among other things, that the state pension age is rising less rapidly and that pensions are becoming more flexible. The negotiations to work out the agreement have been going on for months now.
Technical explorations
De Telegraaf reports that the negotiators are aiming for an exchange: Minister Koolmees would be willing to abolish the discount rate and the trade unions would in turn want to give up pension security. The Ministry of Social Affairs confirms that this is being looked into.
According to the department, “technical explorations in various mindsets” are being carried out when drawing up the pension agreement. One of those ways of thinking is to let go of pension entitlements and actuarial interest.
Pension agreement remains the starting point
The ministry emphasizes that the development of the new pension contract must remain within the principles of the pension agreement. The new contract must be future-proof and also have support from all parties involved, Social Affairs adds. If the ‘mindset’ mentioned above becomes reality, this means in practice that pensions can rise or fall more easily.
The discount rate has been the subject of discussion for years. Various parties in the House of Representatives believe that this is being kept artificially low, which means that pension funds must wrongly reduce.
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