The pension liabilities of the Dutch pension fund PME, the fund for those working in the tech and metal sectors, increased slightly to €49.6bn in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026.

According to the update, the fund's funding ratio fell from 125.3 per cent at the end of 2025 to 121.5 per cent at the end of Q1 2026. This was driven by a slight fall in the interest rate.

Meanwhile, the fund’s policy coverage ratio, the average funding ratio over the past 12 months, improved from 120.1 per cent at the end of 2025 to 122.2 per cent at the end of Q1 2026.

Additionally, PME’s pension assets increased by €0.9bn in Q1 2026, from €59.4bn to €60.3bn, equivalent to an investment return of 0.3 per cent.

Commenting on the results, PME chairman of the executive board, Alae Laghrich, said: “In the past quarter, the world has been confronted with rapid geopolitical shifts. The war raging between the US, Israel and Iran, resulting in the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, has led to uncertainty in the financial markets.

“Fortunately, PME started this year with a good starting point, a high coverage ratio of more than 125 per cent. It gives us a buffer in these challenging market conditions. At the time of publication of this report, our funding ratio has already risen to approximately 125 per cent. It shows the current reality, with peaks up and down occurring more often.

“We are never swayed by the issues of the day, but this volatility does highlight why we are protecting our reserves now. By further increasing the interest rate hedge in the past quarter, we prevented the pensions of our participants from becoming unnecessarily vulnerable to the vagaries of the global market just before the transition to the new pension system."

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