News

In May, we announced the news that Philips and the unions had agreed on the details of the future pension plan, and that they had decided on a solidarity-based contribution plan. It will be another two years or so before the new pension plan will come into effect, but even though that is far away, we are not sitting still now. Read on to find out more about the process ahead during the next two years.

Since 1 July 2023, new pension rules have been in force. The government has launched a campaign and an online platform to explain the new pension rules in more detail: pensioenduidelijkheid.nl.

On 21 November 2022 our Pensions Director - Mike Pernot - shared some information about the new legal rules for pensions with those who have not yet retired. What is the reason for new pension rules? What will change and what will stay the same? And how will this affect you?

Philips Pensioenfonds believes that the pensions that it offers should retain their purchasing power in the long term, so that they still buy as much in the future as they do now. That is our ambition. To realise that ambition, we need to adjust your pension to reflect wage increases (for active members) and increases in prices (for pension beneficiaries and non-contributory policyholders). From 2011 to 2021, however, Philips Pensioenfonds did not fully index its pensions. If you were a member of our pension fund during that time, this means that you missed out on indexation. In 2022, we can make up the difference a little, by granting compensatory indexation. To do this, we must comply with a number of legal rules that apply.

In the middle of this holiday period, I like to briefly look ahead to the second half of this year. The Future Pensions Act and the socially responsible investment of your pension money will again be high on the agenda in the second half of the year. We will also evaluate our indexation policy.

This column has been written for participants who have not yet received a pension. “Your pension contributions – does Philips Pensioenfonds earmark them for you personally, or do they go towards the current pension beneficiaries?” “When can you start drawing the pension that you have accrued with Philips Pensioenfonds?” “Does Philips Pensioenfonds offer the possibility of taking out insurance for your surviving dependants?” We presented these questions to a large group of members last April, to find out your thoughts about pensions, and what you know about them. Misunderstandings can lead to m...