Funding levels of Dutch pension funds continue to climb

Several Dutch pension funds have reported further improvements in their funding positions in November 2025.

Hoogovens Pension Fund reported that its policy coverage ratio, the average funding ratio over the past 12 months, improved, rising from 127.2 per cent in October to 128.6 per cent in November.

Despite this rise, the policy coverage ratio remained 16.4 percentage points below the threshold for future sustainable indexation.

The scheme's current coverage ratio also increased from 133.2 per cent in October to 135.6 per cent in November, up from 122.2 per cent at the start of 2025.

In 2025 to date, the actuarial interest rate had a positive effect of 13.7 percentage points on the development of the fund's current coverage ratio.

Hoogovens Pension Fund also reported that the value of its invested capital increased from €10,411m to €10,483m.

Meanwhile, the update showed that its investment return increased the current funding ratio by 3.7 percentage points; however, this was offset by the pension increase granted on 1 July 2025, which had a negative effect of 3.8 percentage points on the current funding ratio.

SNS Reaal also reported improvements in its funding levels, with its policy funding ratio rising from 124.3 per cent in October to 125.9 per cent in November.

The fund stated that in November, the value of its investments fell, but due to a rise in interest rates, its liabilities decreased. Overall, both of these factors increased the current funding ratio from 133.5 per cent to 135.9 per cent.

For Pensioenfonds UWV, its funding ratio rose from 120.5 per cent in October to 121.3 per cent in November.

It also experienced an improvement in its current funding ratio from 126.1 per cent in October to 127.5 per cent in November.

Meanwhile, the Dutch Pension Fund for Healthcare and Welfare (PFZW) reported that at the end of November, its funding ratio was 124.3 per cent – meaning that for every €100 that PFZW pays out in pensions, there is now more than €124 in cash.

The fund stated that this was “good news” ahead of the transition to the new system on 1 January 2026. PFZW noted that if the situation remains this positive until the end of the year, pension incomes can be increased slightly more than the first estimate showed.

PFZW also explained that this is the penultimate time it will report the funding ratio. The final update will be on 29 January 2026, when it publishes the funding ratio for the end of December, after which the funding ratio will cease to exist due to the transition to the new pension system.

After the switch to the new pension system, PFZW will mainly look at investment returns.



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