2023 and your pension

Have you looked at your payslip to see what the ‘price’ of your pension will be in 2023? Various adaptations are made in the pension scheme parameters each year. This concerns fiscal aspects as well as the outcome of the TNO employment condition negotiations.
Several parameters in the pension scheme changed on 1 January 2023. The new pension contribution agreement combined with pension accrual has also been incorporated.
Since the end of the five-year contribution agreement in 2020, the contribution agreement started being determined annually from 2021. The level of the contribution is determined by the TNO social partners (TNO Board and the Works Council).
This changed on 1 January 2023.
- The TNO social partners (TNO Board and the Works Council) have decided to keep the pension accrual the same: 1.50% just like in 2022.
- To achieve a pension accrual of 1.50%, the total pension contribution had to be increased slightly to 20.34% (was 20.33%). You do not pay this contribution entirely yourself as part of it is paid by the employer. The non-contributory base is also taken into account.
The Pension Fund ambition is an accrual of 1.75%, as happened in 2021. However, pensions have become more expensive in recent years. If the accrual remained the same, the total pension contribution would be as much as 24%. It is currently 20.34%.
- The ‘threshold amount’ or franchise is €16,878 (this was €15,700) as from 1 January 2023. This is the amount over which you do not accrue a pension. This amount is roughly equal to the state pension you will receive from the government when you reach the state retirement age.
- The statutory maximum amount over which you can accrue a retirement and a partner’s pension is indexed annually. In 2023 this is € 128,810. If you earn more you can, for example, supplement your pension via the TNO pension fund’s Net Pension Scheme. There is also an additional insurance for the partner’s and orphan’s pension.
- It’s good to know that the partner’s pension hasn’t changed. Normally, in the event of an employee’s death, the level of the partner’s pension would be based on 70% of 1.50% for the remaining duration until the state retirement age date. A different agreement of a notional pension accrual of 1.75% rather than 1.50% has applied since 2021.
Bekijk de wijzigingen In de vernieuwde portal van Pensioenfonds TNO kun je de gevolgen van de wijzigingen per 2023 al zien. Ga naar ‘Mijn pensioen’ en log in met je DigiD. Op basis van jouw gegevens in de portal kun je dan voor jezelf bepalen of uiteindelijk genoeg pensioen wordt opgebouwd. Heb je problemen met inloggen, neem dan contact op met onze pensioenuitvoerder AZL.
You can read a detailed explanation of all the changes in the newsletter What changed in the pension scheme in 2023? A calculation example is also given regarding what these adaptations mean for your pension accrual.
Extra space to contribute Extra pension Doordat de hoogte van de pensioenopbouw is verlaagd, is er meer ruimte ontstaan voor inleg in de bruto Extra Pensioenregeling. Op basis van je persoonlijke gegevens kun kijken hoeveel ruimte de pensioenregeling voor jou op dit punt biedt.
What about the Pension Fund’s ambition? Despite the lower pension accrual since 2021, which is determined by the pension contribution level in the TNO employment condition negotiations, TNO Pension Fund would like to emphasize that its ambition is a pension accrual of 1.75% and a partner’s pension of 70% of 1.75%. This ambition is also made explicit in the TNO Pension Fund 2023 pension scheme. We hope that we will be able to realize a pension accrual of 1.75% again in the near future.


Extra pension or TOP?

Let’s check a few things
1
Do you want to save extra pension voluntarily? Use the scope for this under tax law. As not all the scope under tax law is used for the average earnings pension, you have scope to save extra pension voluntarily. How much that is depends on your salary, your age at end 2022, and the tax tables in 2023. As a member, you will have received a letter about this in your online TNO Pension Fund pension portal.
If you like the idea of using the scope offered by tax law, you can save Extra Pension. You can inform us of this in FlexDirect. It is important that the amount is not higher than the amount stated in the letter.
2
Do you want to retire earlier? Choose the right TOP LifeCycle Mix. We have a tip especially for members who took part in the TOP scheme between 1996 and 2006. If you are thinking of using the capital to retire early before your state retirement age, we advise adjusting your LifeCycle Mix accordingly. Contact the Nationale Nederlanden Investment Partners for this (now part of Goldman Sachs). Also use the pension planner in ‘My pension’ to view scenarios. You can find ‘My Pension’ in the top right on the TNO Pension Fund website.
3
The development of your capital in 2022: check the impact. 2022 saw rising interest rates and falling stock prices. This affects how your capital develops if you participate in the Extra Pension scheme and/or Net Pension, and/or have TOP capital. All LifeCycles have performed badly. Log in at NN IP to see how your capital is performing.
If you use the TOP capital to buy a lifelong retirement pension, the consequences are limited. So this also applies to any Extra Pension Capital and Net Pension Capital. If you want to use the capital to retire earlier, a conversion to a TOP benefit will yield less at present than in January 2022.

Lump sum: a little more patience

The effective date of the new law allowing you to withdraw up to 10% of your accrued pension in one lump sum has been postponed again.
Perhaps you’ve already heard about it. A law is being introduced that allows you to withdraw a lump sum at the start of your retirement. But you’ll need to be patient for a little longer. The expected new start date of the ‘Lump Sum’ act has been postponed until 1 January 2024. That’s important to know if you’re considering retiring soon.
If you want to retire in 2023 or 2024, you can of course do that. The only thing is that you then can’t use the opportunity to have up to 10% of your pension paid out as a lump sum. There are of course other options, such as a high-low pension or a AOW (state old-age pension) bridging pension.
If you would like to take part of your pension in one go, you can choose not to retire until 2024. You will then probably have the option of withdrawing a lump sum, which you can use, for instance for travel, renovations, a major purchase, or maybe paying off your mortgage.
A few points you should take into account If you opt for the ‘Lump sum’ in due course, there are also a few points you should take into account:
- The pension you receive from our fund every month will be lower for the rest of your life.
- The amount you withdraw is taken into consideration for tax purposes and is added to your income.
- As a result, you will pay more tax in the calendar year in which you receive the lump sum.
- Allowances you receive in that year (such as a rent or care allowance) may be reduced; you may even have to pay something back.
- A benefit may also be reduced.
- The healthcare premium deducted from your pension will increase.
- If you withdraw a lump sum, you can no longer opt for a temporarily higher (or lower) pension. The combination with an AOW (state old-age pension) bridging pension is also not possible.
Even though the new ‘Lump Sum’ scheme hasn’t started yet, it’s good to consider the advantages and disadvantages. If you want to know more about this, contact our AZL customer service. You can contact them on 088 – 116 2401 or by e-mail at pf-tno@azl.eu. As soon as we know more about the definitive effective date, we’ll inform you via the website and in Life & Pension.


Towards your new pension

Like other pension funds, we’re working hard behind the scenes in preparation for the new pension system. What is the current situation?
The Future Pensions Act was passed by the House of Representatives on 22 December. That means that the act will now be debated in the Senate. In the meantime, we’re continuing with all our preparations.
Just before New Year, we sent a mailing with an update based on four concrete questions. Our focus over the past year, where we are now, what you can expect in the coming year, and what to do if you want to know more. You can read this update about the new system on our website. We are currently well into the exploration phase. So there’s a lot happening behind the scenes.
Assessment of the two contract forms Several more consultations and coordination meetings are planned with our social partners in the coming period. These are dominated by a qualitative assessment of the two possible contract forms. The social partners need to choose one of these while we take care of the preparations. These preparations include a decision framework with seven elements: pension outcome, solidarity, freedom of choice, feasibility, explainability, investment policy, and flexibility. A preferred contract will be developed based on several principles and assumptions regarding these elements. Various calculations will also be made in addition to this qualitative assessment. The TNO Board and Works Council will make the final choice based on all the information.
We’ll keep you informed So we’ll continue working with all parties involved to prepare everything as best we can. As soon as there’s more news about this or about the act and the consequences for members and pension beneficiaries, we will organize various webinars. So, we’ll keep you informed.
Would you like to know more? We’ve collected all information from TNO Pension Fund in a Special newsletter. There’s also a website with all general information about the new system. If you would like more information, start here. This will help you make your choice. You can always arrive there via the ‘New pension system’ button on our home page.

Figures

How financially healthy is TNO Pension Fund? These figures give you an impression of how your pension fund is doing. That’s important because it’s about your pension and future.
130,6%
Policy coverage ratio An important yardstick of a pension fund’s financial health is its policy coverage ratio. This is the average coverage ratio of the last twelve months. If this amount is 100%, then there’s exactly enough to meet all of the Fund’s commitments. At the end of December 2022, the policy coverage ratio was 130.0% and by end February had increased to 130.6%. This means we have sufficient reserves to absorb asset fluctuations. The policy coverage ratio development over the past few months can be seen in the graph.
0,85%
Return Another important figure is the return. How are the TNO pension fund investments doing? In 2022, the annual return was 1,65%. In January 2022, the return was 0,85%. If you take part in the Extra or Net Pension Scheme, you’ll accumulate capital at your own risk with Nationale Nederlanden Investment Partners (NN IP). The average yield of this capital was -20,96% in 2022 and -3,05% in February. You can see how your capital is performing at NN IP (part of Goldman Sachs since April 2022).
How is the market developing? On balance, investments achieved a slightly positive return in the first two months of 2023. January was the best January investment month in decades. By contrast, return on investment in February was markedly negative, resulting in a slightly positive return on balance. This was mainly caused by the combination of inflation rates and the central banks’ expected monetary policy: two factors that have a major impact on market developments. Together with interest rates, these will be the dominant themes in 2023.
If you would like more information, follow the news on our website.