The board of the Pension Fund for Healthcare and Welfare (PFZW) has confirmed that it will switch to the new pension system as of 1 January 2026, in what has been highlighted as an "important step towards a better pension".

An update from the fund confirmed that the PFZW board has now accepted the order from its social partners to switch to the new pension scheme as of 1 January 2026, after getting the greenlight from its Accountability Body and the Supervisory Board.

This will convert all accrued pension entitlements and rights of (former) employees in the healthcare and welfare sector.

The fund confirmed that the formal documents associated with this have also been sent to De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) and the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM).

Commenting on this news, PFZW chair, Joanne Kellermann, said: “With this milestone, we are another big step closer to a new and better pension scheme for all people in the healthcare and welfare sector.

“We have been taking our participants and employers with us every step of the way to the new pension scheme in recent years. And we have also supported the affiliated employers in informing their employees."

Work towards the switch will now continue, with members set to receive a sample calculation to provide an indication of the changes in July/August this year, before receiving their first personalised calculation in October/November 2025.

PFZW is then looking to officially switch to the new pension scheme as of 1 January 2026, with members to receive a second pension calculation based on the (pension) data as of December 31, 2025 in Mid-March to mid-May 2026.

"In the coming months, together with our implementation organisation PGGM, we will do everything necessary to make the transition to the new pension rules possible," Kellerman added.

"In the meantime, we are waiting for DNB to approve our implementation plan. When that is done, we can take our participants to the new scheme and to a better pension in three quarters of a year.”

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