The board of Dutch pension fund Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn (PFZW) has announced that the pensions of all members will be increased by 6 per cent on 1 January 2023.

This rise follows the pension increase of 2.7 per cent that was implemented on 1 October 2022.

On 30 September 2023, PFZW’s policy funding ratio was 109.6 per cent and the current funding ratio was 115.7 per cent.

Full price inflation for the year to September 2022 was 14.5 per cent, with PFZW noting that its funding ratio was too low to offset this price inflation.

Both employer and employee contributions will remain the same next year due to a constant premium of 25.8 per cent.

The board noted that the declining purchasing power of pensioners due to high inflation was taken into account, as well as the poor economic prospects.

It decided it was important that PFZW remained financially strong enough, even after indexation, to minimise the chance of a reduction in the coming years.

This year, in the build up to the new pension system, pension funds can decide to increase pensions if their policy funding ratio is higher than 105 per cent.

“More and more people are getting into trouble due to rising prices,” commented PFZW chair, Joanne Kellermann.

“Employees and pensioners in the care and welfare sector also struggle with this and sometimes cannot make ends meet.

“That is why we are pleased that in January we will be able to increase pensions - and also pension entitlements for those who work - again, this time by 6 per cent.

“We too have to take the uncertain economic outlook into account, but we can at least absorb some of the pain now.”

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