As a merchant navy employer, you take part in our pension scheme. Employees aged 18 or over build up personal pension assets with Bpf Koopvaardij. For that purpose, you and your employees pay in contributions. This page tells you what that means for you and your employees.
Each employee builds up pension assets
The pension contribution goes into the employee’s pension assets. Here, the employee can see:
- how much has been paid in, together with you, in the form of contributions;
- what investing yields;
- how much pension they can expect.
We invest the contributions that are paid in
The investment risk depends on the employee’s age. Younger employees have more time to absorb investment setbacks than older workers or pensioners. That’s why we reduce the risk of the investments as the employee gets older. When the employee retires, we calculate the monthly pension they will receive based on their pension assets, and the employee chooses which portion should be allocated to a partner’s pension.
Your role as an employer in the pension scheme
Contribution payment
You pay a monthly contribution, based on the pensionable earnings, for the employee’s pension. The pensionable earnings are the pensionable salary minus the expected Dutch state pension (offset) that the employee will receive. In 2026, 25.90% of the pensionable earnings will be paid in contributions. As an employer, you pay half, unless otherwise agreed in a collective agreement. You deduct the other part from the employee’s salary. We send you a monthly invoice for the pension contributions for all your employees. You must pay this within 14 days of receipt. When you receive the invoice depends on the date when you submit the salary details.
Your pension administration
You must submit your salary details and changes in your workforce monthly via the Koopvaardij Portal. We use this to calculate the contribution due.
Informing your employees
Your role as an employer also involves keeping your employees informed about their pension. For this purpose, we have a toolkit containing communication tools and information materials.
What has changed in the new pension system?
We switched to the new pension system on 1 January 2026. In it, the following arrangements have been made:
- From pension entitlements to pension assets
- The pension will move more in line with the economy
- New rules for the surviving dependants’ pension
The new arrangements
From pension entitlements to pension assets
In the old pension scheme, arrangements had been made regarding the amount of pension the employee would receive upon retirement. We referred to this as the 'pension entitlement'. In the new pension scheme, there are no arrangements about the amount of the pension, but instead about the amount of the contributions that you and the employee pay in. Every employee pays the same percentage of their salary as their pension contribution. That contribution goes into the employee’s personal pension assets.
The pension will move more in line with the economy
The new rules ensure that personal pension assets increase more quickly when the economy is doing well; they can also decrease in less favourable times. The extent to which the pension assets are affected depends on the age of the member. We take less and less risk with investments as the member gets older.
Good to know: in the new pension scheme, we build up a buffer collectively in the form of the ‘solidarity reserve’. We build this up in more favourable times so that we can absorb or mitigate a fall in pensioners’ benefits in less favourable times.
New rules for the surviving dependants’ pension
In the new pension scheme, the surviving dependants’ pension is no longer an amount that has been built up but a percentage of the employee’s salary.
What if the employee dies before reaching retirement age?
The employee’s partner will then receive 25% of the employee’s pensionable salary for life. Children will receive 10% until they reach the age of 25. If the employee’s partner (or former partner) has also passed away, the children will receive 20%. What if the employee had already built up a surviving dependants’ pension prior to 1 January 2026? Then we’ll add that amount to the total.
What if the employee dies after reaching retirement age?
In that case, the partner will automatically receive 70% of the occupational retirement pension that the employee is receiving at that time. The employee may choose a different division upon retirement. Children will receive 14% until they reach the age of 25.
What stays the same?
In the new pension scheme, much remains the same:
- The contribution percentages remain unchanged.
- We share the risks together, such as in the event of occupational disability or the employee passing away.
- We invest collectively, which helps us keep costs low.
- The surviving dependants’ pension continues to exist.
