Financial position

Current funding ratio
 

The current funding ratio reflects the value of the pension fund’s assets as a proportion of the pension liabilities (all pensions payable now and in the future).

At 30 June 2025, Philips Pensioenfonds had an actual funding ratio of 123.4%. 

Policy funding ratio
 

Another way of calculating the funding ratio that is less subject to daily fluctuations is the policy funding ratio. The policy funding ratio is calculated by taking the average of the actual funding ratios over the past twelve months. By law, pension funds are required to use their policy funding ratio for deciding on various matters, for example indexation. The policy funding ratio is also used for other purposes, including to establish whether the pension fund’s buffers are sufficient.

At 30 June 2025, Philips Pensioenfonds had a policy funding ratio of 122.6%.

Required funding ratio
 

The required funding ratio is the minimum policy funding ratio that pension funds are required to have according to the law. If a pension fund’s policy funding ratio is at the same level as the required funding ratio, this means that it has the financial buffer required by law. The purpose of this buffer is to compensate for fluctuations in the value of the pension fund’s investments and liabilities. The required funding ratio varies from one pension fund to the next, and is determined largely by the pension fund’s investment policy: the higher the risks in the investment policy, the higher the required funding ratio. 

At 30 June 2025, Philips Pensioenfonds had a required funding ratio of 115.2%.
 

Latest developments

In the second quarter of 2025, the actual funding ratio increased from 120.7% to 123.4%. The total investment return was positive in the second quarter, despite it being a turbulent period for investors. In early April, President Trump imposed higher import tariffs than expected. This triggered a major sell-off in the financial markets, with stock prices in particular falling sharply. However, thanks to a tariff pause and easing trade tensions between the United States and China, equity markets recovered during the second quarter. On balance, the return on the equity portfolio was positive in the second quarter. Although the return on the real estate portfolio was slightly negative, the return on the portfolio with business assets as a whole was positive.

The fixed-income portfolio delivered a negative return, mainly due to the depreciation of the U.S. dollar against the euro. However, since Philips Pensioenfonds hedges currency risks for most investment categories, the return after this correction was positive.

Due to the rise in long-term interest rates, the value of pension liabilities declined. The combination of an increase in total invested assets and a decrease in the value of pension liabilities led to a 2.7 percentage point increase in the funding ratio in the second quarter.