Netherlands Investment and Pensions
Europe’s second largest pension system is preparing for a historic shift away from the current defined ambition arrangements in favour of one with DC accrual but largely in a collective asset pool. Despite political murmurings among members of the current coalition government, there have been no serious attempts to row back on the reforms, which will kick in from 2025 onwards. The main change for pension funds will be moving away from a system that manages funding ratio, with risk capacity determined accordingly, to one that is arguably better suited to the long-term risk profile of the participants. What’s not to be underestimated is the IT challenge in migrating millions of accounts to the new system.
Pension Funds in Netherlands - Country Report
Netherlands country report 2025: Is the fiduciary management outsourcing trend set to continue?
Time to throw in the towel? Now even established in-house teams are shutting up shop
TOP DUTCH PENSION FUNDS 2025
Pension fund/entity | Assets (€’000)
- ABP | 518,810,000
- Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn (PFZW) | 246,840,000
- Pensioenfonds Metaal en Techniek (PMT) | 84,245,825
- BPF Bouwnijverheid (bpBOUW) | 65,992,042
- Pensioenfonds van de Metalektro (PME)| 56,586,717
©IPE Research; View the Top 1000 European Pensions Funds 2025 for a comprehensive market overview
Dutch pooled pension schemes HNPF and Stap to merge into €18bn fund
The duo plans to merge in 2027, creating a combined €18bn vehicle with more than 150,000 participants
Lower funding ratios for Dutch pension funds as Iran War bites
Dutch pension funds see Q1 funding setbacks as markets reel from Hormuz tensions
IPE Netherlands Briefing: Dutch pension fund returns disappoint
Dutch pension funds delivered an average return of -2.9% in 2025 as positive equity returns failed to compensate for losses made on bond portfolios
Rising rates wipe out asset gains as Dutch pension returns fall to -2.9%
HAL pension fund, the €166m pension scheme of the owner of FD Mediagroep (IPE’s parent company) returned 14%
Dutch pension funds hedge equity exposure in run-up to Iran war
Pension funds Foodservice, DHL and Gasunie hedge equities ahead of DC transition in the Netherlands, but strategies diverge sharply amid geopolitical volatility
TOP MANAGERS: DUTCH INSTITUTIONAL ASSETS
Company | Assets (€m)
- APG | 615,549*
- PGGM | 251,000
- BlackRock | 235,339
- Achmea Investment Management | 222,737
- MN | 153,332
- ASR Vermogensbeheer | 122,060*
- Aegon Asset Management | 94,690**
- Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Mngt. | 76,760
- State Street Global Advisors | 66,280
- Northern Trust Asset Management | 59,643**
As at 30.6.25, *31.12.24, **31.03.25
©IPE Research; Sign up to IPE Profesional to see all the data in the latest country report
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Dutch pooled pension schemes HNPF and Stap to merge into €18bn fund
The duo plans to merge in 2027, creating a combined €18bn vehicle with more than 150,000 participants
Lower funding ratios for Dutch pension funds as Iran War bites
Dutch pension funds see Q1 funding setbacks as markets reel from Hormuz tensions
IPE Netherlands Briefing: Dutch pension fund returns disappoint
Dutch pension funds delivered an average return of -2.9% in 2025 as positive equity returns failed to compensate for losses made on bond portfolios
Rising rates wipe out asset gains as Dutch pension returns fall to -2.9%
HAL pension fund, the €166m pension scheme of the owner of FD Mediagroep (IPE’s parent company) returned 14%
Dutch pension funds hedge equity exposure in run-up to Iran war
Pension funds Foodservice, DHL and Gasunie hedge equities ahead of DC transition in the Netherlands, but strategies diverge sharply amid geopolitical volatility
APG adjusts executive renumeration policy after €1m CEO severance pay
In the future, salaries of the pension asset manager’s executive board will be more in line with those of its main client and owner, civil service scheme ABP
SIU, IORP II review: Dutch pension federation MD addresses MEPs
Edith Maat sets out the conditions for the success of the European Commission’s supplementary pensions package
Why Dutch funds made negative returns on private equity in 2025
Pension schemes partly blame high purchase prices in the period 2019-2021 for the poor returns over the past three years
ABP CIO Herman Bril: I understand fossil fuel investors
The new CIO also talks about cutting its US Treasuries exposure and playing for ‘Team NL’
APG’s active equity strategies underperform benchmark by almost 7%
The pension asset manager posted a negative return on its actively managed listed equities strategy in 2025, underperforming its benchmark by 6.9%
IPE BEST PENSION FUND IN NETHERLANDS AWARD WINNERS
- 2024 - Stichting Pensioenfonds Medisch Specialisten (SPMS)
- 2023 - Rabobank Pensioenfonds
- 2022 - PFZW
- 2021 - PFZW
- 2020 - Shell Nederland Pension Fund (SNPS) and SBZ Pensioen
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