ING’s €27bn pension fund in the Netherlands has won Best Dutch Pension Fund in this year’s Pensioen Pro Awards in Amsterdam. 

Pensioen Pro, IPE’s sister publication, granted the award to ING following a vote by a 1,300-strong popular jury, which selected the scheme from a shortlist of three.

The jury praised ING’s ability to reduce the chances of rights cuts to nearly zero while still offering a good chance of indexation.

Last year, the pension fund saw its funding ratio increase to 133.2%, enabling it to grant full inflation compensation.

At the same time, it registered a high level of satisfaction among its participants.

The €42bn metal scheme PME took home two prizes, winning the Silver Award for Best Large Pension Fund and the Themed Award for Best Investment Policy.

Notarieel Pensioenfonds, the €1.5bn occupational pension fund for notaries, won the Silver Award for Best Medium-sized Scheme and the Bronze Award for Best Investor in Bonds. 

The €70m Calpam Pensioenfonds, which won the top award last year, landed the Silver Award for Best Small Scheme.

The large civil service scheme ABP was given the sustainability prize for its new investment policy, while healthcare pension fund PFZW won the Bronze Award for Best Equity Investor, for its active engagement with pharmaceutical companies. 

Landbouw, the €13bn pension fund for the agricultural sector, won the Best Real Estate Investor Award, with the jury citing its sustainable property policy.

The Algemeen Pensioenfonds KLM, the airline’s €7.5bn pension fund for ground staff, received the award for Most Client-friendly Scheme, citing its efforts to engage with younger participants.

The innovation prize went to PensioenPod, an initiative aimed at simplifying the mapping of income and expenses after retirement.

Mark de Wijs, director at SPO, the institute for pensions education, was recognised for his contribution to the pensions industry over the past 16 years.