The Dutch pensions regulator De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) has approved Stichting Pensioenfonds Trespa’s collective value transfer (CWO) to an insurer, following an initial ban last summer.

The liquidated pension fund submitted a second CWO request for approval by DNB in November 2024, which DNB approved at the end of February 2025.

DNB exercised its regulatory powers to ban the first request for a CWO on the grounds that the pension fund did not make a balanced decision.

Following the decision to dissolve Stichting Pensioenfonds Trespa, its board decided to transfer all pension liabilities to an insurer in 2024. However, the pension fund’s total assets exceeded the cost of this transfer. It therefore decided to use the surplus to secure indexation with the insurer.

It had a choice between a one-off indexation, a fixed annual indexation or a combination of both. It subsequently opted for a one-off indexation of 13.52 per cent and a fixed annual indexation of 0.56 per cent.

However, DNB ruled that this choice mainly and unilaterally benefited older pension members (older than 40-50), while the youngest pension members would gain 0 per cent.

“Trespa's board is required by law to take balanced decisions. According to Section 105(2) of the Pensions Act, this means that all pension members must be able to feel that they are represented in a balanced way in the decision-making by Trespa's board. DNB ruled that Trespa's board did not sufficiently substantiate in this decision that it was a balanced decision,” DNB explained.

Explaining its decision, Trespa’s board said it opted for such a high one-off indexation because Trespa had indexation arrears: Accrued pensions have not been increased fully in line with inflation for some time.

“The calculations made by Trespa show that the combination of the insurer's choice and this high one-off indexation ensures that the remaining pension capital will mainly benefit the older pension members,” it acknowledged, stating that the board approved this decision.

Stichting Pensioenfonds Trespa closed on 31 December 2022 and the sponsoring employer, Trespa International, transferred active members to Stichting Pensioenfonds PGB.

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