The confidence of Dutch households in pension funds has increased over the past year, according to a study from De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB).

It found that 57 per cent of Dutch households had confidence in the financial sector, up from 52 per cent in 2025.

The DNB annually measures confidence in banks, insurers, pension funds, and other institutions.

The study noted that pension funds in particular had shown a strong improvement, with the proportion of Dutch households feeling confident about pension funds rising from 55 per cent to 63 per cent year-on-year.

Confidence that pension funds can continue to pay out pensions also increased, from 51 per cent to 61 per cent.

DNB noted that this improved confidence coincided with the ongoing transition to the new pension system.

Knowledge of the new system was rising, with 61 per cent of households saying they were at least reasonably informed about it.

“The research further shows that supervision plays an important role in confidence in the financial sector,” DNB stated.

“Six out of 10 households indicate that DNB supervision contributes to their confidence that financial institutions can meet their obligations.

“Households also attach great value to the independence of regulators: 78 per cent consider it important that regulators are independent of politics.

“And according to 39 per cent, negative statements by politicians about banks or regulators have a negative impact on confidence in the financial sector.”

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