The interest accrual for the ARP plan for the first half of 2026 has been set. For active as well as deferred members of the ARP/ASP plan this is 6.27% on an annual basis. This represents the full interest grant.

We recently informed you about the open positions on the board and the Accountability Council. In this message, we’re providing a brief update on the current status.

In 2024, the House of Representatives approved the new pension choice known as ‘lump sum’. The Senate recently indicated that it would only consider this proposal once the new minister had announced a clear start date. On March 30, 2026, it was announced that this pension option would be available no earlier than January 1, 2029.

Following the expiry of the current term of office of one member of the Accountability Council representing pensioners and one member of the Accountability Council representing active members, two vacancies have arisen within the Accountability Council of Mars Pension Fund.

Following the expiration of the current term of two board members representing active members, two vacancies for board positions will arise within the board of Mars Pension Fund.

Every month, you receive your pension from Mars Pension Fund on or around the 1st day of the month. Starting in July 2026, we will change the payment date for your pension to the 20th of each month. This change does not mean that you will miss a payment, but that you will receive it later in the same month.

After working as a temp for a year, I joined Mars as a permanent employee in 1978. In the beginning as a packer. Through internal training I became a process operator. Twelve years later I was elected to participate in the works council. And now I am a director of the Mars Pension Fund.

To find out whether our communication is appreciated by you, it is good to do some research on this. That is why we asked members and pensioners to complete an online survey in June. Overall conclusion: we are on the right track!

... Are you going to work part-time? And what about part-time retirement, anyway?

Price developments may affect the composition of a particular portfolio, as a result of which it may temporarily deviate from the Life Cycle and Free Investment. This is checked once a year and adjusted if necessary. This annual check was performed in July for the Vanguard funds in the Life Cycle and Freely Invested.