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www.pensioenkijker.nl
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Pensioenkijker.nl: Booklet on pension for people who have not always lived in the Netherlands.
Will I get a pension from my work?
Usually, yes.
Most companies in the Netherlands have a pension scheme. In a pension scheme, you build
up entitlement to part of your pension each year. So the longer you participate in a pension
scheme, the higher your pension.
You should bear in mind that the amount of your retirement pension is based on the
assumption that you will receive AOW pension at the full rate. This is why your retirement
pension is not based on your full salary: to calculate your pension, frst a sum (called the
deductible amount) is deducted from your salary.
Example
Emir earns € 25,000. His work has a pension scheme in which pension is accrued on the
salary less the deductible amount of € 15,000. This means that the pension Emir builds up
each year is based on earnings of € 10,000.
Important
Most pension schemes assume that you will receive a full-rate AOW pension. But if you do
not receive a full-rate AOW pension because you lived or worked outside the Netherlands
for a long time, your pension may not be enough for you to live on.
What should I do if my work does not have a pension scheme?
If your work does not have a pension scheme, it is a good idea to talk to your employer about
it. If you are willing to pay part of the costs towards your pension, your employer may be
willing to set up a pension scheme.
If your employer does not want to, you can save for your pension yourself through an
insurance company, a bank or the life course savings scheme. To learn more about this,
visit the website of Pensioenkijker.nl (in Dutch).
What can I do if my pension will
not be enough to live on?
If your pension will be too low
If you think that you will not have enough pension to live on, it is best to start saving as early
as possible to make up for it. To fnd out if you will have enough pension, you need to take the
following steps:
• Decide how much income you want to have after you retire
• Subtract the expenses you will have after retirement
• See what you will receive in the way of pension – state pension, pension from your
employer or pension from another country
• See whether the pension you will receive is higher or lower than the income you will need
If your pension is really not enough to live on
It is possible that, when you retire, your pension will truly be too little to support yourself.
This may be the case, for example, if you do not receive a full-rate AOW pension because
you lived outside the Netherlands for a number of years, and you have very little or no
other pension.
You can claim income support to supplement your income if your total income is less than the
guaranteed minimum income. The guaranteed minimum income is the level to which everyone
who lives or works in the Netherlands is entitled. You can claim income support from the
local authorities in your place of residence. Income support supplements your income up to
the amount of a full-rate AOW pension.
Important: You only qualify for income support if:
• You are unable to support yourself
• You have little or no income
• You have little or nothing in the way of assets
• You live in the Netherlands
• You spend no more than 13 weeks abroad each year.
Read more about this (in Dutch) at this website: www.rechtopalgemenebijstand.nl.