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Today, all participants who accrue pension with Philips Pensioenfonds or receive a pension from us, received the latest edition of our Generaties magazine. In this edition Christiane van der Wateren and Eric Coutinho talk about the role of the Accountability Body within Philips Pensioenfonds and the new composition of the Accountability Body. We also tell you what the Pension Agreement ('Pensioenakkoord') means for you as a participant of Philips Pensioenfonds.

In the past month, the current funding ratio has risen from 110.9% (end of September) to 113.1% (end of October). After a fall in the third quarter, interest rates rose again in October. This is because the US and China seem to be getting closer to resolving the trade dispute. In addition, a firm Brexit has been averted in the short term now that the EU has agreed to a third extension until 31 January 2020. This interest rate increase did indeed reduce the value of the fixed-interest portfolio. But this negative effect on the funding ratio was more than offset by a stronger fall in pension liabilities. Stock markets also responded positively to developments regarding the trade dispute and Brexit. The value of the portfolio with real values ​​increased in the past month. On balance, the rise in interest rates and positive stock markets led to an increase in the current funding ratio by 2.2 percentage points in October.

Philips Pensioenfonds exerts influence in various ways on companies in which we invest. As a shareholder in many companies, for example, we have the option of voting at shareholder meetings. And if companies in which we invest violate the Global Compact principles, we address them to this.

You probably would rather not think about it, but imagine that you will die ... do you know how your partner and children are left behind financially? A few things are also arranged for your partner within the flex pension. But you have to do something for it yourself!

In the first six months of this year, the assets of Philips Pensioenfonds increased by almost 1.8 billion euros. However, at the end of June of this year our financial situation was not that good as at the start of 2019. This indicates that only the size of the assets does not really say much about the financial situation of Philips Pensioenfonds. After all, we only know whether the assets are sufficient if we know how much money the Fund needs to pay you and all other pension builders and pension recipients the pension now and in the future. We call this the pension liabilities. And in the aforementioned period they increased even more than the assets. The main reason for this was a fall in the interest that we must use to calculate the pension liabilities.

The quarterly report for the third quarter of 2019 has been published. You can download the report via our website. In the third quarter, the current coverage ratio fell from 113.0% at the end of June 2019 to 110.9% at the end of September 2019. The fall in the current coverage ratio was due to the fall in interest rates. The trade war between the China and the US held financial markets in their grip during the third quarter of this year. In addition, central banks indicated that monetary policy was relaxed. All this led to a sharp fall in interest rates. The portfolio with fixed-income securities benefited from the low interest rate and showed a positive return in the past quarter. But the positive effect of this on the funding ratio was more than offset by an increase in pension liabilities. The fall in interest rates was therefore on balance negative for the development of the funding ratio. Aided by the prospect of a more flexible monetary policy, equity markets showed a modest return in the third quarter. However, this was not high enough to prevent the funding ratio from falling by 2.1 percentage points in the third quarter.

Since 1 October, mijnpensioenoverzicht.nl shows you what your pension will look like in three scenarios: the expected pension and your pension if the economy goes better or worse in the future. The scenarios are shown in a net amount per month, including AOW. The inflation (price increase) has also taken into account. So you see an estimate of what your pension will soon be worth. If prices rise and we cannot increase your pension through indexation, then you can buy less when you retire. Mijnpensioenoverzicht.nl is a website where you can see your total pension income. So not only the part that you have built up at Philips Pensioenfonds, but also your pension with any other employers and your AOW.

On behalf of the pensioners, Philips Pensioenfonds has transferred an amount of € 108,109.23 to KWF Kankerbestrijding this month.

Philips Pensioenfonds is interested in your opinion about our services. What good things do we do, what could be better? To gain insight into this, we have asked a large number of members to participate in a survey. This research is conducted by the independent market research agency Kantar TNS. We want to improve our communication and services with the help of the results of this research.