Retired former employees
A message from eTNOs
Many organizations and companies have an association of former – mostly retired – employees. Shell, Douwe Egberts (JDE), Nationale Nederlanden, KLM, just to name a few. TNO also fits that bill.
eTNOs, the Association of and for former TNO employees The eTNOs Association was established in April 1979. Initially to organize social activities, due to concerns about social isolation among pensioners. In the years that followed, the association grew and now counts more than 1,500 former TNO employees as members. Whereas in the beginning the main focus was on social activities, today the association focuses not only on meeting up with each other, but also on representing and informing its members.
The three pillars of eTNOs
Meeting focuses on reencounters with former colleagues. Excursions, boat trips and meetings are some of the activities that are organized, such as Christmas and New Year celebrations. These types of meetings are very popular. These are, after all, unique moments to catch up with former colleagues and reminisce.
Representation involves things such as representing members' interests at TNO Pension Fund and at the health insurer. Crucially, here, eTNOs are affiliated with the Pensioners' Umbrella Organisation [Koepel Gepensioneerden, KG]. This umbrella organization represents the interests of over 3 million beneficiaries.
Finally, informing involves information meetings on a variety of topics of interest to pensioners. This includes issues relating to topics such as inheritance tax or living wills. Once every three months, the magazine eTNOs Berichten is published and sent to all members. The magazine contains a mix of substantive articles and human interest. It frequently features interviews with former colleagues, but it also discusses recent TNO research. After all, it appears that many members are still interested in how TNO is doing today.
An association eTNOs is an association organized into three regions. Each region has its own Board and has four working groups: Pension, Health and Welfare, Communication and History. The latter working group in particular plays an important role in managing and preserving TNO's history over the years.
As an association, eTNOs organizes a General Members' Meeting every year at an appealing location (Dutch Open Air Museum in Arnhem, Museumpark Archeon in Alphen aan den Rijn, National Military Museum in Soesterberg). At this meeting, the Executive Committee reports on the policy pursued. Lunch is then followed by a tour or a location-related activity.
Keeping in contact with former colleagues As you can see, at eTNOs, retirement does not mean an end to contact with former TNO colleagues. Many former TNOs have now discovered that for themselves.
Interested in membership: www.etnos.nl/welkom
Financial support
A message from SPF
TNO employees for TNO employees: even with the holidays and the new year approaching, the TNO Social Personnel Fund is ready to help you get back on track financially!
A helping hand The TNO Social Personnel Fund (SPF) supports TNO employees and retired TNO employees throughout the year. Even now with the holidays and the new year approaching. The SPF is committed to helping current and former colleagues in need of financial support.
Ask about the possibilities Are you worried about whether you will be able to buy gifts for your loved ones for Sinterklaas or Christmas, or do you just want to get a better overview of your finances and enter the new year with a good feeling? The SPF can help in both cases, but possibly also with other cases in your situation. Contact us at spf@tno.nl and tell us a bit more about your situation. We will be happy to explore the possibilities together with you!
SPF is ready to help you For example, you can receive a free consultation with a financial coach simply to discuss your concerns or to get your money matters just a bit more in order. We may also be able to support you financially, whether it's to get that gift for the holidays or that holiday you've been wanting to take for a long time but just can't book at the moment. We are here to help you. Here's to a beautiful and financially stable 2025.
Would you like to know more? E-mail the secretary of the SPF: spf@tno.nl.
Read more about the options and membership of SPF (in Dutch) on the Pension Fund's website at Documents or view the news mailing.
What does the Accountability Body do?
A message from the VO
The Accountability Body [Verantwoordingsorgaan, VO] is one of the bodies within TNO Pension Fund, alongside the Board, the Management and the Supervisory Board. The VO consists of nine members: three members on behalf of the employer, three on behalf of the employees and three on behalf of the pensioners. The pension fund Board is accountable to the Accountability Body (VO) for the policy, the achieved outcomes of this policy and policy choices for the future.
Opinion on the Board's actions The role of the VO is set out in the Pensions Act: the VO issues an opinion on the Board's actions based on the board report, the financial statements and other information. The outcomes are described in the VO report, which is an integral part of the pension fund's annual report. Additionally, it is a duty of the VO to assess whether balanced consideration of interests has taken place in (proposed) decisions of the board. In other words, whether the interests of all stakeholders have been taken into account.
Advisory right In addition, the VO has an advisory right on a number of issues (for example, remuneration policy, premium, complaints procedure and so on), and under the Future Pension Act (WTP), it even has a strengthened advisory right on several issues. Currently, the VO has been asked for an opinion on the communication plan as part of the transition to a new pension scheme. The communication plan describes how the Fund intends to communicate the changes resulting from the new pension system to all members. What information is communicated is largely laid down in the new Pensions Act. This largely relates to personal information: what does the transition mean for my benefits or expected pension in the short and long term? The Accountability Body will issue an opinion to the Pension Fund Board on the submitted plan in the short term.
The committees of the VO Like the pension fund Board, the VO works with a number of committees. These are the same committees as for the Board, specifically: Pension Management Committee (CPB), the Investment Advisory Committee (BAC), the Audit, Risk & Compliance Committee (ARC), and the ESG Policy Committee (CEB). Board committees advise the pension fund Board on policy decisions to be taken.
Discussions on the progress To update the members of the VO committees on the issues at stake in the Board's committees, talks between the members of the VO committees and the chairs of the Board committees have been held in recent months. These were useful discussions, which gave the VO a sense of the committees' activities and the dilemmas involved in decision-making. The starting point for the discussions has always been the progress of the committees' activities as described in the Board and management's annual plan. The VO receives quarterly reports on the progress of the annual plan for information. Many of the current activities relate to the transition to the new pension system, but of course pension accrual and benefits in the current system also require attention. ‘'During the renovation, the shop will remain open', to use a cliché. The conversations are so useful that the Accountability Body would like to have these conversations with the chairs of the management committees on a regular basis, for example twice a year.
Intensive exchange of views In addition to these discussions, regular monthly meetings are held between the chairman of the Board, the management and the Executive Board of the VO. In this way, there is an intensive exchange of thoughts and concerns that are further addressed in the VO's internal consultations and the formal consultations between the Board and VO (at least twice a year). Incidentally, exchanging views does not mean that you always agree on all aspects. Each fund body has its own role.
Deceased pension beneficiaries
The list of deceased is longer, because it covers those who died as of the end of February. This is because in July, the Life & Pension special edition on the annual report did not list deceased pensioners.
Are you in need of Rouwinformatie? The death of a loved one is a profound event. If you are dealing with the loss of a loved one, grief support can help. Until recently, TNO Pension Fund had a partnership with Rouwsteun for this purpose. They offered a sympathetic ear. Unfortunately, this service is ending, but there is still Rouwinformatie (Dutch).