NETHERLANDS - Pensions provider Cordares has been chosen as the new administrator for the €1.35bn industry-wide pension fund for the cleaning and window cleaning sector.

Cordares will also become responsible for board support and carrying out the scheme's early retirement arrangements once the contract takes effect from 1 January 2010, said Franck Erkens, spokesman for both parties.

With 600,000 participants, the window cleaners' scheme, known as Stichting Bedrijfstakpensioenfonds voor het Schoonmaak en Glazenwassersbedrijf, is among the 10 largest schemes in the Netherlands.

According to Erkens, Cordares' winning points were low costs, its efficiency in collecting contributions, as well as the support it has offered for the transition process.

The sector's lobbying organisation, the Stichting Raad voor de Arbeidsverhoudingen Schoonmaak en Glazenwassersbranche, has been closely involved in the decision-making process, added the spokesman.

Administration of the cleaners' scheme is currently managed by Syntrus Achmea, while its assets are managed by Interpolis.

Cordares, which had €25bn of pension assets under management at the end of the third quarter, merged with the pensions provider of the €195bn civil service scheme ABP into APG Group at the start of 2008.

Adri van der Wurff, chief executive at Cordares, previously stressed at an earlier date Cordares is tasked with delivering pensions support to the private sector, as part of APG Group.

Cordares has since become the new pensions provider for three pension funds of the brick-manufacturing industry, as well as being appointed as the fiduciary manager for the new industry-wide defined contribution (DC) scheme for the wholesale flowers and plants sector.

Cordares also closed a cross-border deal with the €1.6bn Italian pensions provider PensPlan to initially manage €100m of assets.

(See earlier IPE stories: Brick industry switches to Cordares, APG signs cross-border deal with PensPlan and New flower and plant scheme to go fiduciary)

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