What you need to know
What you need to know
At various points in time, such as during the webinar held on 4 February 2025, we will inform you about your new pension. In addition, we will keep you up to speed with (brief) updates via Life & Pension. There will also be another video message from Suzanne van Kooten and Hans Veltman in due course, as was done last summer and in the summer of 2023, and another webinar in early 2026.
If there is anything you need to do yourself, you will receive an e-mail or a personal letter from us or TNO or another employer affiliated with TNO Pension Fund. That is important to know.
If you need to take action in connection with the new pension system, you will receive an e-mail or letter from us or your employer.
You can expect the following in the next few years
The rules governing pensions are going to change, because we want everyone to be able to get pensions, in the future as well. That is what we have agreed together, as embodied in the Dutch Future Pensions Act. Below you can read all about the reasons underlying this change.
Since the law was passed in 2023, TNO Pension Fund can set out the new rules in greater detail and shape the new pension scheme. Based in part on the results and the wishes of the social partners, the new pension scheme will also be further shaped. We will keep you up to date with developments via this site.
Expect to hear more about the new TNO Pension Fund scheme in the coming years. Everything will become more specific one step at a time. That means we will be able to inform you about the new pension scheme as things unfold. We will first provide general information, and the details will follow later.
The Works Council and the employer, TNO Pension Fund, held information sessions on the state of affairs in May and June.
After everything has been calculated and worked out in detail, we will prepare a tailor-made calculation for everyone. We will also show the differences just before the transition (1 July 2026). You will then get an idea of what your accruable pension is, based on the old and new schemes. Things will then become more specific.
The effective start date of the new pension scheme is no later than 1 January 2028. Our aim is for the new scheme to be finalized by 1 July 2026. This date depends in particular on the approval of TNO Pension Fund's plans by De Nederlandsche Bank. The Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) also plays an important role in this process. They must approve the communication plan specifically set up for this process.
Who does what at TNO Pension Fund?
The parameters have been laid down by law. Our job is to flesh things out. To this end, the board – together with the administrative office – has prepared a roadmap for implementation and a project plan ahead of the Act coming into effect. The most important aspect of this is that they have examined how to achieve a good transitional scheme, so that everyone benefits equally from the new opportunities.
Pension is part of your employment conditions. The employer and the TNO works council, in which capacity they make decisions about the pension scheme. They have recently reached a decision. on the content of the new pension scheme. You can read all about these principles in the Transition Plan for TNO Pension Fund, which has been posted on the fund's website.
They will make the decisions about the substance of the new pension scheme and decide which of the two schemes it will be: a solidarity-based scheme or flexible pension scheme.
The association of pension beneficiaries, eTNOs, will be informed and have the right to be heard. The accountability body and the board have an advisory role.
The board of TNO Pension Fund is doing the preparatory work. For instance, they are currently examining how the new pension system will affect all participants in concrete terms. Calculations must demonstrate that the choices made are balanced and that the Board can properly justify why those choices were made and why any other alternatives are not applied.
In addition to all the work that the board of the pension fund is already doing, our pension provider will also have to implement the new pension scheme as part of the new administration system.
So, you will be hearing a lot about this in the years to come.
Having a say
As members and pension beneficiaries, you can exert influence, directly or indirectly, in various ways. If you are an employee of one of the affiliated companies (other than TNO), you can indirectly influence the transition through your employer.
Why a new system?
The rules governing pensions are going to change, because we want everyone to be able to get pensions, in the future as well.
The current system is vulnerable. We are living longer, and investment returns are uncertain. There are also changes in the labour market. Young people are still generally paying too much for the pension they will receive later, and older people too little. That is not a problem if you accrue pension with one pension fund all your life. It is a problem when employees start their own business later in life and leave a pension fund, as this means they will get less pension than they paid for with their employer.
Overall, what is most noticeable is that the current system, together with current regulations, are not very effective when interest rates are low.
The new rules in the new pension system will ensure that pensions increase sooner when the economy is doing well. They are also more likely to go down during economic downturns. This means that your pension moves in line with the economy. The new system also makes pensions fairer: young and old get the pension they and their employer have paid for.