Your relationship ended
You and your partner have decided to split up
The end of a relationship represents a big change, one that often carries over to many other aspects of your life. For example, you might have to make arrangements about children, maintenance payments and child support, your home and how to divide your possessions. One element that is sometimes overlooked is the pension rights that you have both built up during your relationship.
Brochure
In this brochure you can read what the end of your relationship means for your pension.
Download brochure 'End of relationship'The end of your relationship
If you and your partner decide to split up, this will impact your pension. Precisely how depends on your marital status: are you married, are you registered partners or are you simply living together?
Deregister your partner
If you were living together without being married, or if you live abroad, you are responsible for telling Philips Pensioenfonds to deregister your partner. You can do this by sending us a signed letter. You can send the letter by regular mail or upload it in MijnPPF.
Go to MijnPPFIf you are married or have a registerd partnership
If you are married and you divorce, your ex-partner is entitled to a share in the retirement pension rights that you have built up. If you die, your ex is also entitled to the survivor’s pension that you have accrued. Chapter 4 explains what other options are available to you and what you and your ex-partner should do if you prefer one of those arrangements.
In the eyes of the law, a registered partnership is the same as marriage.
Notification by lawyer or civil-law notary
If you were married or had a registered partnership and your divorce or the termination of your partnership has become official, your lawyer or civil-law notary will send the divorce decree to the municipal authorities where you were married. Those authorities will record the divorce in the municipal registers. Philips Pensioenfonds will then automatically be informed of your divorce or the termination.
Legal separation
If you and your partner decide to legally separate, in the eyes of the law you are still married: you are only living separately from your partner. In this situation too your ex-partner is entitled to a share in your retirement pension. Legal separation from bed and board does not have any implications for your survivor’s pension (at least not yet): this is only affected if and when the marriage is permanently ended.
Living together
If you were living together with an ex-partner who was registered with us, your pension will not be affected in quite the same way as it is if you were married. The law does not make any provision for dividing your retirement pension if you and your partner split up. However, you still have the option of dividing your retirement pension. If you lived together with your ex, he or she is entitled to the survivor’s pension that you have accrued.
Implications: retirement pension
Your divorce will impact your retirement pension. The rules for when and how your retirement pension must be shared are laid down by law. Read on to find out what this means.
What the law says
You and your ex-partner are both entitled to a share in your retirement pension. However, this only applies to the retirement pension rights that you built up while you were actually married. This is called ‘sharing’ or ‘dividing’, and is laid down in the Dutch Pension Rights Sharing (Divorce) Act (Wet verevening pensioenrechten bij scheiding). The scope of that law covers all divorces and terminations of registered partnerships after 1 May 1995. Read the Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice’s booklet entitled Verdeling van ouderdomspensioen bij scheiding (‘retirement pension division upon divorce’) to find out everything that you need to know about that law. You can get your copy of that booklet (in Dutch) at www.rijksoverheid.nl.
No statutory arrangements about dividing your retirement pension
The law does not dictate how your retirement pension must be shared at the end of your relationship if you lived together without being married. However, you may decide for yourself to divide your retirement pension rights. You will need to come to an agreement with your ex-partner, and make your own arrangements to ensure that your ex is paid the appropriate share in your pension. Philips Pensioenfonds will not do this for you.
Standard division: down the middle
You and your ex-partner are each entitled to half the retirement pension rights that you built up while you were married (50/50): the standard division, which either you or your ex may request. Bear in mind that division is only possible if the value of your pension is greater than the minimum commutation value stipulated by law (gross value for 2024: € 592,51 per year). You can read more about it under 'Alternative arrangements' on this page.
Frequently asked questions about what ending your relationship means for your pension
You will receive a confirmation at the time we have processed the division. It also states how much your ex-partner is entitled to.
Are you still accruing pension at Philips Pensioenfonds? Then you will receive a Uniform Pension Overview every year. Have you decided to divide your pension? Then the Uniform Pension Overview will show your total pension and which part your ex-partner is entitled to.
Your ex-partner will receive a confirmation at the time we have processed the division. Your ex-partner will find the amount of the pension he or she is entitled to, from the moment you retire.
Is your ex-partner entitled to a extraordinay survivor's pension? Then your ex-partner will receive a Uniform Pension Overview every five years. It shows the current amount of the special survivor's pension. Does your ex-partner already receive a pension? Then he or she will receive the pension overview every year
From the moment you retire, we pay out the divided pension. Do you choose to start your pension earlier or later? Then that moment also automatically applies to the pension of your ex-partner. Are you already retired? Then your ex-partner will receive his or her first pension payment two months after we have received the notification of the termination of the relationship.
Action point
If you prefer to have us pay your ex-partner his or her share in your retirement pension directly, we need to know within two years after your divorce. Fill out the form ‘Mededelingsformulier in verband met verdeling van ouderdomspensioen bij scheiding’ (‘Notice of divorce for purposes of retirement pension division’), which you will find at www.rijksoverheid.nl. If you opt for the standard division (50/50), only one of you needs to sign the form. If we do not receive that form within two years, we will only pay a pension to you as a participant. It will be your own responsibility to arrange for your ex to receive his or her share in your retirement pension.
Download mededelingsformulierImplications: survivor’s pension
If you and your partner decide to split up, your ex will still be entitled to a survivor’s pension. This is called an ‘extraordinary survivor’s pension’, and will be paid to your ex-partner when you die.
Vragen over het bijzonder nabestaandenpensioen
Your ex-partner is entitled to the survivor's pension that you have accrued before and during your relationship.
Have you been divorced before during your employment? Then we may have already established an extraordinary survivor's pension for your first ex-partner. The extraordinary survivor's pension for your second ex-partner consists of the survivor's pension that you have accrued from the first date of separation to the second date of divorce.
Your ex-partner can renunciate the special survivor's pension. Perhaps because your ex-partner has sufficient (pension) income himself. In the section 'Other agreements' you can read what you and your ex-partner must do if your ex-partner wants to renunciate the survivor's pension.
We pay the extraordinay survivor's pension for your ex-partner from the moment you die. Your ex-partner receives the special survivor's pension until he or she dies.
If your ex-partner dies when you have not yet retired, the extraordinary survivor's pension of your deceased ex-partner will be added to your accrued survivor's pension. Your potential new partner will then be entitled to a higher survivor's pension.If you do not have a new partner when you retire, you can exchange the survivor's pension for a higher pension. Does your ex-partner die when are you already retired? Then the extraordinary survivor's pension will lapse.
The Anw shortfall insurance automatically stops, when are notified that your relationship has ended. If you die, there is no benefit from this insurance for your ex-partner.
Alternative arrangements
The previous chapters in this booklet explain the standard arrangements for your pension if your relationship ends. However, you may also make alternative arrangements concerning your pension. Bear in mind that you will need to record them before the end of your relationship is finalized. Read on to find out what other arrangements you can make.
Non-standard division of retirement pension rights: different shares for each partner
You and your ex-partner are not required to divide your retirement pension according to the standard arrangement. For example, you might agree that you keep 60% and your ex gets 40%. These arrangements should be recorded in your divorce agreement or partnership termination agreement. If you want us to process these arrangements in our records, send us a copy of the form ‘Mededelingsformulier in verband met verdeling van ouderdomspensioen bij scheiding’ (‘Notice of divorce for purposes of retirement pension division’) bearing both your own signature and your ex’s. You must also send us a copy of the document in which the nonstandard division is recorded.
No division of retirement pension: your pension stays with you
If you and your ex decide not to divide your retirement pension, the entire value will remain with you. This arrangement should be recorded in the divorce agreement or partnership termination agreement, of which we will need a copy.
Conversion: a separate pension for your ex
You may also choose an arrangement in which a separate pension is set up for your ex-partner. This is known as conversion: you and your ex decide separately when you want your respective pensions to start paying out. Your ex no longer has to rely on when you retire. Conversion is exactly what it sounds like: we calculate your retirement pensions using the standard division (half each) or any other arrangement that you choose, and your ex’s share is then converted into a separate retirement pension. That pension starts paying out to your ex as soon as he or she reaches retirement age based on the rules of your pension plan. The extraordinary survivor’s pension to which your ex-partner is entitled, is included in the conversion, and becomes additional retirement pension for your ex. After the conversion, your former partner will also have the option of transferring the pension to his or her own pension administrator. This is known as a value transfer.
Waiver of extraordinary survivor’s pension
Your ex-partner may waive his or her entitlement to an extraordinary survivor’s pension. You can record this decision in your divorce agreement or partnership termination agreement. Alternatively, a provision to that effect might already have been included in your prenuptial or partnership agreement when your relationship started. If your ex decides to waive his or her entitlement to an extraordinary survivor’s pension, you should send us a copy of the relevant document.
Action required
If your ex-partner decides to waive his or her entitlement to an extraordinary survivor’s pension, we need to know within two years after the date of your divorce. Send us a copy of the authenticated document recording that decision. Alternatively, you can notify us of the decision, after which you and your ex both sign the waiver and return it to us.
Download mededelingsformulierRelated information
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MijnPPF
Firstly, it is good to know that you can view your personal pension data in MijnPPF. You can also submit changes to it.
Go to MijnPPF