more time for pension funds to switch to the new system

The specialists needed to transfer participants’ pension rights in an orderly manner are scarce. And because the parliamentary review of the new pension law has taken much longer than expected, many funds will have to wait until the last minute with what is known in the jargon as “entering”.

Left-wing factions

CDA Senator Ria Oomen is not yet reassured by the soothing words of Pensions Minister Carola Schouten, who promised to closely monitor the situation regarding the transition to the new pension system. Like her colleagues on the left, she wants to hear from Schouten that the deadline can possibly be extended.

In addition to a longer deadline, the PvdA and GroenLinks want a permanent arrangement that ensures people in heavy occupations can retire earlier. Furthermore, they insist, as do left-wing factions in the House of Representatives, that the new system should ensure that more people accrue a pension.

Argument

With sufficient commitments on those points, Schouten looks set to secure a majority for the pension law on Tuesday, as the Senate hopes to complete processing of the bill. In the House of Representatives, alongside the coalition parties, the PvdA and GroenLinks voted in favor of the law. Together, these parties also hold a majority in the Senate.

The SP and 50PLUS, among others, are fiercely opposed to the pensions law and are doing everything to delay the vote scheduled for next week. 50PLUS Senator Martin van Rooijen came in a speech lasting more than two hours with numerous calls to the cabinet to amend the bill. Unlike the House of Representatives, the Senate itself does not have this right.

The biggest renovation

SP Senator Tiny Kox came up with a new argument at the last minute. Since the Pensions Act also regulates old-age provision for (former) members of the House of Representatives, a two-thirds majority is necessary, according to him.

The new pension system changes the way pension funds manage a kitty totaling €1.5 trillion. This makes it the biggest renovation in the socio-economic field in recent decades.