Published on 27 February 2018
The February 2018 edition of our PensioenKompas explains the recent changes in your pension scheme rules. However, there have been two additional changes. The pension based on membership years (DJP pension) has been adjusted to reflect the rising state pension age. And the amount in partner’s pension for incoming value transfers into the Dutch Merchant Navy’s Company Pension Fund (Bpf Koopvaardij) has been adjusted to ensure that the original ratio between the retirement pension and partner’s pension remains intact. A value transfer is the situation where you take your accrued pension from one pension administrator to another.
Adjustments to membership-based pension (DJP) and age
The DJP scheme allows employees to take early retirement if they have built up a pension for more than 40 years (membership years). One of the conditions is that the pension must not exceed 70% of your last earned pensionable salary. The membership years and age at which you become eligible for DJP are linked to the annual rise in the state pension age. In 2018 the state pension age was increased to 66. That is why the number of membership years has been increased to 41 and the DJP age to 64 (2017: 40.75 and 63.75, respectively).
Amount in partner’s pension after value transfer
If you take the pension built up under another pension scheme with you to the Bpf Koopvaardij Pension Fund, the total value of your pension will be the same both before and after this value transfer. On 1 January 2017, changes were made to the way in which you build up a partner’s pension under the Bpf Koopvaardij pension scheme in the sense that part of that pension will now be insured on a risk basis. The partner’s pension is 70% of the retirement pension, except that 24% is now built up on an accrual basis and 46% on a risk basis*. In the event of a value transfer, this ratio means that you would receive a higher retirement pension and lower partner’s pension, although the total pension value remains the same. That is why in the event of a value transfer, the amount in partner’s pension transferred to the Bpf Koopvaardij Pension Fund will always be adjusted to 70% of the corresponding retirement pension. This is to ensure that the partner’s pension remains unchanged as a percentage of the retirement pension.
* The part that is funded on an accrual basis (24% of the retirement pension) remains available to your partner even if you stop working in the merchant navy or retire. The part that is funded on a risk basis (46% of the retirement pension) is cancelled once you leave the company or retire. Want to know more about your partner’s pension?