Knowing more about your pension is simpler than you might think. With the following steps you will know within 15 minutes what your pension will be, what you will have net of it and what your own contribution is now.
Most employees know whether they are building up a pension or not. But knowledge often ends beyond that. There’s actually no need for that, because it’s not that complicated. We show you how you can check your pension.
1. How much pension do I have??
Go to mijnpensioenoverzicht.nl and log in with your DigiD. At the top of the welcome page, a blue box shows ‘Download Pension Overview’. If you download and open it, you will see all your pensions, including the AOW.
Under the heading ‘Accrued’ you will see what lifelong pension you would receive if you stopped accruing now. The official retirement age is often 68, but it can also be 67 or 65. In almost all pension schemes you can retire earlier or later than that age. You will of course receive more or less pension per year.
Under the heading ‘To be achieved’ you will receive a pension if you continue to work in your current job until the official retirement age.
2. What will I have net of this?
The amounts in this overview are gross. So tax still has to be deducted from that. From your state pension age, you pay a much lower tax rate on your income up to €38,139 (2024), namely rounded off 19 percent instead of the 37 percent you pay before your state pension age. On top of that, you always pay health insurance premiums (approximately 5.5 percent) on your pension, which is a kind of health care tax.
To give an idea: from a pension of € 4,000 per month, you will have a net amount of approximately € 2,430 left before your state pension age. After your state pension age, that is no less than € 2,992 net. That’s almost a quarter more.
This has all been calculated on the welcome page of pensionoverzicht.nl. This shows your expected net pension per month. All known pensions plus the AOW have been added together. You will then get an impression of whether you are accruing sufficient pension or not.
Whether you spend more or less after retirement than you do now is different for everyone. On the one hand, when you retire, you often have lower costs. Think of children who have left home and the mortgage that is then largely or completely paid off. On the other hand, your expenses may actually increase, especially in the first years, because you want to travel and do other fun things.
3. What do I pay for my pension?
With most pension schemes, both you and your employer pay part of the pension premium. The employer often pays half to three quarters of the monthly premium and you pay the remainder. How much you pay per month is stated on your pay slip under ‘Employee pension premium’ or ‘Pension contribution’. This contribution is automatically deducted from your salary. So you don’t notice it and you don’t pay tax on it, because pension contributions are tax deductible in the Netherlands.
4. How can I improve my pension?
- Take your pension with you. Have you accrued pension in several places? You can then usually transfer your older pensions to your current provider. This is called ‘value transfer’ in jargon. Transferring your older pensions makes things clearer, but it is not always an improvement. If the old pension scheme is clearly more favorable than the new one, it is better to leave your pension money. If in doubt, consult a financial advisor or financial planner, your trade union or another expert. (Also read: Take your pension with you or not? Pay attention to this if you change jobs)
- Determine investment risk. There are roughly two types of pension: the traditional pension from pension funds and insurers and the so-called investment pension as implemented by Aegon Cappital, among others. If you have an investment pension, this is stated in mijnpensioenovericht.nl under the heading ‘Indicative pension’.
With a traditional pension you usually don’t have any options: it is what it is. Do you have an investment pension? Then there are often several choices. This way you can adjust the risk profile. Most providers have a questionnaire that you must complete. For example, Aegon Capital has the profile guide. Once you have answered all the questions, you will be shown the investment profile that best suits your personal situation. If that is a different profile than the standard profile, you can adjust the risk profile. For example, towards being more risk-averse. Then you are expected to accrue less pension, but the value of your pension pot will not fluctuate significantly. If you take more risk, your pension is expected to be higher, but the value of your pension pot will fluctuate more than in the risk-averse scenario.
- You can pay extra contributions to some pension schemes. You then build up extra pension and you create an extra tax deduction, because the pension premium is deductible. Please note that you can only access this (extra deposited) money once your pension commences.
Do you want to know what your choices are? Log in with your pension provider and see what the options are.
If you have all the login details at hand, you will find out in no time what awaits you in terms of pensions later. And whether it is possible and wise to take action. For example, by taking more risks with your investments, agreeing on a supplementary pension or making additional savings or investments.
Better Session: Future-proof pension | November 30, 4:00 PM
On November 30, Business Insider and Aegon will organize a second online event about the pension reform. This event provides insight into what options are available in the new pension system and what you can do today for a good pension later. Afterwards you will have the tools to determine your optimal pension strategy. Sign up here.
This is one article in a series of Aegon Capital. Aegon Cappital is the premium pension institution (PPI) from Aegon. Thinking ahead is what makes us happy. Together with advisors, employers and employees. So that employees make smart choices now for later. Read more articles in the file Is your pension approved?.