New rules for pensions have been in force since 1 July 2023. These new rules are included in the Future Pensions Act. Because of these new rules, your pension plan will change. The new pension plan must take effect no later than 1 January 2028.
It is not yet known exactly what the new pension plan at Mars Pension Fund will look like, but on this page you can already find a lot of information about what you can expect.
What is going to happen now?
Pension is an employment condition. This means that the employer (Mars) and the Works Councils are the first to make agreements about the new pension plan. They are currently negotiating those agreements. The Works Councils represent the interests of the members at the negotiating table. The pension fund is not responsible for the content of the new plan, but is closely involved and supports Mars and the Works Councils with information and advice.
Timeline
The House of Representatives and the Senate have approved the Future Pensions Act.
The new legislation comes into force. Mars and the Works Councils discuss the transition to the new pension plan. Mars Pension Fund supports them with information and advice.
Mars and the Works Councils take a decision about the new pension plan. Mars Pension Fund assesses whether the plan is feasible and balanced for all member groups.
Mars Pension Fund is preparing for the transition to the new pension plan. External supervisors DNB and AFM check whether this is going well.
Before the actual transition to the new pension plan, you will receive a personal overview and an explanation of what the changes mean for you. When you will receive this information depends on the effective date of the new plan.
The government has decided that the new pension plan must come into effect no later than 1 January 2028. The new plan may also come into effect earlier. The effective date for Mars has yet to be determined.
Why is the government 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.
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.
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. It also works 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 are entitled to a partner’s or orphan’s pension, the rules will be the same for everyone. This makes it clearer what your partner and children can count on. If you pass away while you are employed, the pension is a percentage of your final salary. The level of coverage is agreed by Mars and the Works Councils. 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 and how many years you have worked. 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.
I am not yet receiving a pension and want to know more about what the new rules mean for me.
The pension agreement is the agreement that the government, together with employers and trade unions, made in 2019 about the future of our pension system. Since then, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment has been working on the new pension rules.
Our society has changed a great deal in recent years. People live for longer and are less likely to work for one employer their whole lives. The pension system must adapt itself to this. That is why the government, together with employers and trade unions, has concluded a pension agreement with new rules for pensions and AOW (state retirement pension). The Pensions Act has been amended to implement the new rules.
The new pension rules have taken effect on 1 July 2023, but it will take much longer for the pension scheme to be adjusted accordingly. Mars, its affiliated companies and the pension fund have a few more years to make the new agreements specific to their own pension scheme and to prepare for their implementation. The introduction must be arranged by 1 January 2028.
For the time being, nothing changes. Your pension accrual and pension benefits will continue under the current pension scheme. Mars and its affiliated companies will make new arrangements based on the new legislation. Once those arrangements have been made, there will be a new pension scheme.
No, it makes no difference. The new pension rules apply to new pension accrual from the introduction of the new pension rules. Whether the new pension rules will also apply to pension that has already been accrued has yet to be decided. It makes no difference whether you have already retired or are about to retire. If it is decided to convert already accrued pensions to the new scheme, then all accrued pensions will be converted, including pensions that have already started.
I already receive a pension and want to know more about what the new rules mean for me.
Yes, even if you are already receiving a pension, you will be affected by new rules for your pension. Unfortunately, what these new rules mean for your benefit is not yet known. Mars and its affiliated companies will agree on this in the coming years.
No, members cannot do anything personally. Mars and its affiliated companies make the decision whether accrued pension rights and entitlements will be covered by the new pension plan. 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.
It will be some time, however, before we can show you what the changes mean for your retirement benefits. No later than 1 January 2028, the pension plan will have been adjusted. We understand that this is an uncertain time. In the coming period, Mars and its affiliated companies , in close contact with the pension fund, will determine what the new pension plan will look like. They will ensure a balanced outcome for all (former) members and pensioners. As soon as choices have been made, you will receive more information about this.
We will keep you informed
There is still much to be worked out and choices to be made. That will take a few more years. As soon as it becomes clear what impact the changes will have on your pension, we will of course inform you.
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Clarity and more information about the new rules
To make it clear to everyone what the new rules entail, the government, together with the trade unions, employer organizations and pension providers, has created the website pensioenduidelijkheid.nl. Here you will find more information about the changed pension rules.
Pensioenduidelijkheid.nl