Dutch pension fund Provisum has found that its members are becoming better informed about the country’s new pension system, although concerns about the personal impact of the reforms remain widespread.

According to the fund’s latest Pension Monitor, approximately three-quarters of active members and retirees, and 56 per cent of deferred members now say they know at least something about the new pension rules - a significant increase compared with last year’s baseline.

Awareness has also risen, with more members recognising that pensions will become more variable, that there will be no indexation guarantees, and that Provisum has measures in place to limit losses during market downturns.

Knowledge gains were especially strong among deferred members, 93 per cent of whom now understand that their pensions will be more sensitive to economic conditions, up from 71 per cent in 2024.

Awareness of the absence of indexation guarantees is also higher, particularly among men (64 per cent compared with 47 per cent of women).

However, despite these increases in knowledge, negative emotions around the new system remain.

Around one-third of members report feeling worried when thinking about the new system, while 35 per cent feel powerless or on guard, unchanged from the previous survey.

Positive emotions have increased but remain lower overall: 27 per cent of active members and 23 per cent of retirees say they feel hopeful about the transition, up from 15 and 18 per cent respectively.

The research noted that greater knowledge does not necessarily equate to greater confidence.

“Participants are more aware, but that awareness is a double-edged sword - it is driving both curiosity and concern,” the report said.

However, trust in Provisum’s handling of the transition is relatively high, with between 73 and 86 per cent of respondents agreeing that the fund will manage the change carefully.

In addition, between 69 and 79 per cent of participants believe that they will not be worse off under the new system.

Communication efforts also appear to be having a tangible impact, with almost all members having received at least one message from Provisum in the past six months, with email cited by 67 per cent as the main channel.

Meanwhile, the firm's clarity and completeness ratings have also improved since the previous survey, and more than half of retirees report that they have actively sought further information about the reforms as a result.

In the survey, members expressed a clear preference for personalised updates, with 75 per cent favouring email and between 51 and 65 per cent preferring digital newsletters.

“What matters most to members is understanding what the reforms mean for them personally,” the report concluded, observing that the most common questions focus on whether members will be financially better or worse off, the stability of their pension, and the fairness of the new arrangements.

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