More than half of Dutch people under the age of 67 know little or nothing about the changes to the country’s pension system, according to a survey by the National Institute for Budget Information (NIBUD).

The Netherlands legislated for the Dutch Future Pensions Act (Wet toekomst pensioenen; Wtp) last year and it will see schemes transition to a new DC-like system by 1 January 2028.

NIBUD director, Arjan Vliegenthart, commented: “The changes concern us all. It is therefore important that both the government and the pension sector fully commit to education and awareness, and extra on the target groups that now know the least.”

The survey found that young adults, women and those without university education are considerably less informed. For example, among the elderly, nearly 85 per cent said they are familiar with changes in retirement, but for young adults, it is less than 60 per cent. The difference between men and women is slightly smaller – 78 per cent versus 66 per cent – the difference between high school-educated and college-educated people is about 18 per cent. More than 75 per cent of those educated at college and university know about a new pension system.

A majority (72 per cent) of respondents said they know there are changes around retirement. However, nearly half of this group cannot name what they think the most important change is. The most common changes that are mentioned are more individual pensions, uncertain pension benefits or changes in state pension and retirement age. Over a quarter of respondents have studied the new pension system; one-third say they still plan to do so.

Commenting on the findings, Dutch Federation of Pension Funds chair, Ger Jaarsma, said: "We have known for some time that people do not study their pensions much. The results of the NIBUD survey therefore do not surprise us.

“We agree with NIBUD that informing working and retired people about what the renewed pension system means for them is very important. Thus, the pension federation supports several national campaigns on the subject. These are mostly aimed at the general public, but there is also a campaign specifically for young people.

“Pension funds are also communicating directly with members about the renewed system. This includes information about where they are in the process and when working and retired people will receive more personalised information about the transition. In 2025, a small number of pension funds will make the transition to the renewed system. In the run-up to this, these funds will communicate about this with affiliated workers and pensioners.

“The centre of gravity is in the following years. In 2026, 2027 and 2028, most pension funds will transition. That's when communication and information to working and retired people will be further intensified and become increasingly concrete and personal. It is expected that knowledge about the new pension system among the Dutch will then continue to rise."

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