Onwards to a new pension plan
At the moment, we are hard at work for a new pension plan. What will this plan look like? What will change, and what will remain the same? On this page, you will find available information and frequently asked questions about the new plan. Didn't find what you were looking for? Ask us your question!
Want to read the Transition Plan or a summary?
The Transition Plan is available, in English. You can also find summaries per member group in Dutch as well as in English.
Transition Plan and summaries
What remains the same?
AOW (state pension) will continue to exist
You will receive an AOW benefit from the government from your state pension age.
Joint pension accrual via your employer
You continue to accrue pension via your employer.
Pension as long as you live
After retirement you will receive pension income. You will continue to receive a pension as long as you live.
Your surviving relatives receive a pension
If you pass away, your partner and children will receive a pension.
Pension accrual in the event of incapacity for work
If become incapacitated for work, your pension accrual continues and the pension for your partner and children if you pass away, also remains insured.
What will change?
Personal pension with agreements about contributions
Mars currently has two pension plans, the Final Pay Plan and the ARP/ASP-plan. Agreements have been made in the Final Pay Plan about the level of the pension benefit. In the ARP/ASP-plan, agreements have been made about how much contribution will be paid for your pension. The level of the pension benefit is not fixed. We call this a defined contribution plan. With the arrival of the new pension rules, everyone will accrue pension in a defined contribution plan. You will accrue personal pension capital, from which your pension benefits will ultimately be paid. Also with the new pension plan, you can retire as early as 10 years before your state pension age. As of now, you can retire from the age of 50.
Pension via your employer can increase faster
Although Mars Pension Fund has been able to increase the pensions, many pensions at other pension funds have not or hardly increased in recent years. In the new pension system, all pension funds can use the investment results more quickly to increase pensions. And the other way around: if things don’t go well, pensions can be reduced. The fluctuations in the level of your pension become smaller when you are (almost) retired. The closer you get to retirement, the more accurately you see how much money you can count on. Every year you will receive an overview of the expected level of your pension. Are you still accruing pension? You will then receive an overview of your accrued pension capital. In this overview you will find, among other things, the total contributions paid and the return achieved on the investments. We also provide an estimate of how much pension you can expect on your retirement date. Are you already retired? You will also receive an overview of the level of your pension and how it is developing.
The pension for your surviving relatives: clear and the same rules for everyone
If you pass away while you are employed, the partner's pension will be 50% of your final salary. It does not matter how many years you have worked. If you pass away after you have already retired, the height of the pension depends on what you have built up, how many years you have worked and the choices you make when retiring. The new rules also specify when you are eligible for a partner’s pension. This applies to married people, registered partners, partners who live together at the same address with a notarial cohabitation contract or partners who live together without being married for at least six months at the same address without a notarial cohabitation contract.
Three reasons why the government is coming up with new rules for pensions
1. Clearer and more personalized retirement
It is now unclear to many people how much they pay for their pension and how much they accrue. With the new rules, everyone builds up a pension through a premium scheme. This pension specifies how much money (premium) you and your employer put into your pension.
2. Pension can go up faster than now
When the economy is doing well, sometimes the pension through your employer does not go up now. That feels unfair. The new rules ensure that this pension moves with you: if the economy is doing well, your pension can go up sooner. Is the economy worse? Then your pension can also go down.
The new rules do ensure that the movements become less when you are (almost) retired. Because the pension of a younger worker has more time to absorb investment setbacks than that of older workers.
3. Pension better matches your career
People are increasingly changing jobs, stopping work for a while or starting up for themselves. The pension rules currently do not fit in well with this. That is why new rules are coming in. Are you no longer building up a pension through an employer or are you getting a different pension plan? Then you will soon see more clearly what this means for the amount of your pension.
I don't receive a pension and want to know more about what the new rules mean for me.
For the time being, nothing changes. Your pension accrual and pension benefits will continue under the current pension scheme. The intention is that the new pension plan will go into effect on 1 January 2027. Until then, we will inform you regularly about any changes.
No, it makes no difference. The new pension rules apply to new pension accrual and to pension that has already been accrued or commenced. All accrued and commenced pensions will be converted to the new plan. Some rules will change after the conversion, like rules about early retirement and where to buy buy the ARP/ASP pension. Until the new regulation comes into effect, we will explain all details in full. Keep a close eye on our communication to see what the new rules mean for your situation.
I receive a pension and want to know more about what the new rules mean for me.
Yes, even if you already receive a pension, you will be affected by new rules for your pension. In the time until the new scheme comes into effect, we will explain what these new rules mean for your pension.
No, members cannot do anything personally. Mars and its affiliated companies have made the decision to include the accrued (and already started) and yet to be accrued pensions in the new pension plan. All pensions will be converted to the new plan on 1 January 2027. This is also known as "invaren". All the regulations surrounding the new pension rules and vesting are in the Future Pensions Act. This act does not include an individual right of objection. This means that members cannot personally choose whether the new rules will also apply to their pensions.
In 2025 and 2026, we will explain the new pension plan in more detail. The intention is to have the new pension plan go into effect on 1 January 2027. We understand that this is an uncertain time. The provisional, personal amounts will be shared at the end of 2026.
Still an unanswered question?
With this form you can ask a question about the new pension rules. We use all of these questions as input for the frequently asked questions we feature on the website. For generic questions, you can best get in touch with Pensioenservice via the contact page. We are happy to help!
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