Dutch pension funds will not increase next year for a quarter of funds

Pensions will not increase next year for a quarter of funds

At approximately one in four Dutch pension funds, the pension benefit will not be increased next year. Last year, most pensions were increased significantly, after years of stagnation. But that picture will change in 2024, reports the Pension Federation. It is not yet known whether indexing will be an option for approximately one in three funds in the coming year.

Adjustments in 2024

The adjustments next year will vary from 0 to 8 percent. For some of the funds, pensions increased sharply in 2023 due to price increases in the previous year. But other funds are increasing based on wage increases and they are only now catching up.

Four of the five largest funds do increase the pension benefit.

Increases in pension benefits in 2024 at the 5 largest funds

“Regardless of the choice of indexing based on wages or prices, each fund has to deal with different circumstances. So each board makes its own decisions,” says chairman Ger Jaarsma of the Pension Federation, to which almost all pension funds are affiliated.

The moment at which the pension fund measures inflation can influence the increase. For example, pension funds that measure inflation from September to September may index 0.2 percent, while 3 percent applies to pension funds that measure inflation from August to August.

A fund also checks whether increases have been made in previous years. It also plays a role whether a fund has sufficient room to implement increases according to the statutory rules.