Employers Newsletter

September 2021

Preparing for the new pension system

A new pension system is being introduced, with the relevant legislation coming into force in 2023. All the Dutch pension funds are required to switch to the new system before 2027, and that includes Bpf Koopvaardij. In the near future, the employee and employer organisations (i.e. the social partners) and Bpf Koopvaardij will already be making important choices as regards the new pension scheme. We will also take account of the views of current and former seafarers. At the end of October, for example, we will investigate how they feel about risks being taken when their pension money is invested. But we also want to know the extent to which they want to be able to make their own choices regarding their pension scheme. We will take the results of the online survey into account when designing a new pension scheme. 

Results of employer survey on service provision 
by Bpf Koopvaardij

In our June 2021 newsletter, we asked you to give your opinion on the services of Bpf Koopvaardij by taking a brief survey. We would like to thank the employers who took part. Here are the main findings:

1. Personal contact with the Employer Desk is rated as good to very good, as is the overall service provided by the fund;
2. Respondents are satisfied with Bpf Koopvaardij’s communication regarding pension developments and pension administration. They did query, however, whether the frequency shouldn’t be increased in view of the advent of a new pension system;
3. Respondents are neutral as regards the Employer Portal. They still regularly get error messages when uploading data.

We have already started dealing with the comments regarding the Employer Portal. This newsletter tells you more about what we are doing. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any comments about our services or communication.

Improved user experience with new release of Employer Portal 

A number of employers have contacted us in recent months about technical problems when using the Employer Portal, for example unclear error messages when uploading periodic pay slips. We have therefore been working on a new release of the Employer Portal that resolves these issues. The new release has now gone live. Besides various technical improvements, error messages are now explained more clearly. This makes for a more user-friendly Employer Portal. We will continue to improve the portal. If there are things you think can be improved, please let us know at  servicedesk@koopvaardij.nl.

Useful to know: 

How do you calculate the daily wage if an employee is paid on a four-weekly basis?

In some cases, a different payment system applies, namely payment on a four-weekly basis. What is then the right way to calculate back to the correct daily wage that needs to be declared?

When calculating the daily wage, the correct calculation is as follows:

Basic salary ÷ 28 × 1.08 (× any fixed overtime allowance [overwerkforfait] of 15% and the fixed supplements allowance [toeslagenforfait] of 5%). 
 

You can find all invoices in the Employer Portal

We still receive requests from employers to send (copy) invoices by e-mail. As we already announced, we no longer send invoices by post or e mail. They are uploaded monthly to the Employer Portal, where you can view and download them. You log in with the eHerkenning tool. 

Employers' guide

The current Employers' Guide can always be found on our website. This contains easily accessible information about the pension scheme and your pension administration.