New pension agreement for Dutch postal fund

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The pension fund for the Dutch postal services, Stichting Pensioenfonds PostNL, has agreed on the execution and financing of a new pension agreement with its sponsoring employer PostNL and the trade unions.

The different parties have had intense negotiations since December 2012, when the new arrangement was proposed. Details of the agreement include an increase of the pension age to 67, a cap on employer contributions, a higher accrual rate and a lower threshold which would increase the amount over which pensions can be accrued. The planned starting date for the agreement is 1 January 2014.

Currently PostNL is obliged to plug any deficit up to an unlimited amount, but this will be limited in two phases. Between 2014-18 an annual maximum of 1.25 per cent of the pension liability of the pension fund will be applied, supplemented by a conditional budget of a maximum of €300m, to be used to prevent any pension cuts. From 2019 only the annual maximum of 1.25 per cent will apply.

As a compensation for the limit on its contribution, the employer will pay €150m into the fund to remove the deficit by the end of 2013.

The new arrangement will be presented to the union members for approval. If a definite agreement is reached, the pension fund, which currently covers both PostNL and TNT Express, will be split and TNT Express scheme members will be transferred into a separate pension fund.