The Dutch Federation of Pension Funds (Pensioenfederatie) has warned that the government's compensation scheme for errors in disability benefit calculations by the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) does not adequately address the impact on supplementary pensions.

The federation said that while it supported efforts to correct mistakes made by UWV in the assessment of disability benefits (WIA), it warned that the impact on people with supplementary disability pensions and continued pension accrual during disability also needs to be addressed.

Errors were identified by UWV in 2024 in the calculation of WIA benefits, prompting the government and UWV to establish a compensation scheme aimed at reimbursing missed benefits and limiting the impact on income-related support.

However, Pensioenfederatie said the scheme does not provide pension providers with the historical data needed to make accurate retrospective corrections.

Pension Federation chair, Ger Jaarsma, said: "While we support the importance of carefully correcting UWV's mistakes, we also believe it is important to consider the consequences of those errors for people with a supplementary disability pension and/or continued pension accrual during periods of disability.

"In our discussions with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW) and UWV, we have consistently argued for corrections to be applied retrospectively and for pension providers to receive the data they need to make those corrections."

The federation explained that most pension providers are required under their pension regulations to use the WIA daily wage determined by UWV when calculating disability-related pension benefits. In most schemes, this is based on the daily wage established on the first day of WIA entitlement.

Under the current compensation scheme, however, UWV will only adjust the WIA daily wage for future payments rather than retrospectively, meaning the impact on supplementary pensions will depend on the rules of individual pension schemes.

Jaarsma said reliable historical data from UWV would be “essential” to enable pension providers to make accurate corrections.

"For careful and workable corrections, reliable historical data from UWV is essential. Although no solution is currently available, we will continue discussions with UWV and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment,” he stated.

Pensioenfederatie also noted that those affected can either accept the compensation offered under the scheme or request a standard retrospective reassessment of their WIA entitlement.

However, it noted that a retrospective reassessment could also affect supplementary disability pensions or the continuation of pension accrual during disability, as well as have other financial implications.

To help individuals decide which option is more beneficial, UWV will provide access to an independent financial adviser.

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