“New Pension System for Workers and Pensioners: Future Pensions Act Receives Majority Support in Senate”

There is also a majority in the Senate that is in favor of a new pension system for workers and pensioners, the Future Pensions Act. That is the outcome of two days of debate in the Senate.

The plan is that next Tuesday, the day that the Provincial States members elect a new Senate, the ‘old’ Senate will still vote on it. There are no objections to this according to the statutory election rules.

The proponents call the law an improvement of the internationally acclaimed Dutch pension. This consists of the AOW and, for a large part of the working population, a supplement with a pension scheme through the employer.

In the new system, risks and returns are better distributed over the different generations and a more flexible labor market is taken into account, they say. According to the majority, this is necessary for the solidarity and therefore sustainability of the pension system.

In the House of Representatives, VVD, D66, CDA, ChristenUnie, GroenLinks, PvdA, SGP and Volt voted in favour. It was a large majority of 93 against 48. These parties have a majority in the current and probably also in the new Senate.

In the debate, Minister Carola Schouten for Pensions managed to remove the last objections from these parties in the Senate. This gives pension funds an extra year to arrange the transition to the new system.

Schouten also promised to make efforts to reduce the group of working people who are not yet accruing a pension. She has also promised to hold talks with employers and trade unions about people who work in heavy professions, “so that these people can also enter their retirement in good health”. She gave no guarantees on outcomes.

A government commissioner will supervise the transition to the new system. This commissioner also checks at certain times whether further postponement is necessary.

Opponents of the law, such as SP, PVV and 50Plus, find the new pension system too risky. Both because of ambiguities about transferring existing pension rights to the new system, and because of the greater investment risk and the lack of guarantees.

Next Tuesday, the Senate will debate the objections of at least 50Plus and SP. In the evening, the 75 senators then vote by roll call.