Outlook
Developments in the coming years
If we look ahead, two developments play a role: system reform and the coronavirus crisis.
System reform The urgency to change the system is increasing. Persistently low interest rates are leading to ever higher contributions with ever lower pension accrual in return. At TNO Pension Fund, this is a very real dilemma when it comes to making the contribution agreement for 2021 and beyond.
The government is expected to make further decisions on the long-planned change to the Dutch pension system during 2020. Individual funds are expected to be able to choose between several variants. The implementation will obviously take several years.
The pension fund anticipates these changes and enters into discussions with social partners and members on various subjects. After all, building consensus is essential.
Read more about the recent developments on our website.
Coronavirus crisis While a severe recession is mostly expected, it is still unclear how long it will take to recover.
This may affect some of the major sectoral pension funds. Coverage ratios were so low at the end of April that pension cuts seem inevitable from next year. The policy coverage ratio level at the end of 2020 will determine this.
TNO Pension Fund’s coverage ratio also fell sharply in the first four months of 2020. However, as in recent years, our coverage ratio is higher than that of the large sectoral pension funds. Under the current criteria, we fortunately do not need to make pension cuts yet.
Read more about the current situation on our website.