The €125m pension fund of fashion chain Peek & Cloppenburg has decided to liquidate itself to join the €12bn industry-wide scheme for the Dutch retail sector, Detailhandel.
Chairman Jos van Noort told IPE that demands from regulator De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) to increase the level of expertise among its trustees had also been a factor in its decision, adding that the pension fund felt the DNB’s demands could jeopardise its “continuity”.
Currently, the Pensioenfonds Peek & Cloppenburg boasts a funding ratio of 120% – although Van Noort acknowledged this was partly due to savings on admin costs following its decision to merge.
He added that any funding surplus at the P&C scheme at the time of the merger – scheduled for 1 January 2015 – would be added to the pension rights of “his” participants and pensioners.
As of the end of August, Detailhandel reported a funding ratio of 119.6%.
Van Noort said the P&C scheme had refrained from placing its pensions arrangements with an insurer largely due to the risk that “insurers can go bust”.
This would hit younger participants in particular, according to the board.
The chairman also said the consolidation had come at the request of the employer.
The liquidation of the P&C scheme – and its subsequent merger with Detailhandel – is still subject to DNB approval, according to Van Noort, who also said arrangements still needed to be fleshed out with the industry-wide scheme.
The Pensioenfonds Peek & Cloppenburg has approximately 3,000 participants, of which 600 are active.
In January, it granted its participants an 0.5% indexation.
It increased the annual pensions accrual from 1.47% to 1.62% last year.
No comments yet