A new survey by the Dutch central bank (DNB) has shown a remarkable rise in public confidence in pension funds as well as the new defined contribution (DC) system the industry is in the process of implementing, compared with the mood a year ago.
One explanation could lie in the large bonuses seen coming to participants of those pension schemes that transitioned to the new contracts on 1 January.
In its annual survey of confidence among Dutch households in banks, insurers, pension funds, and other institutions, which is carried out around April each year, DNB said pension funds in particular had seen a strong increase in trust in the 2026 poll compared to the 2025 results.
The proportion of Dutch households with confidence in pension funds rose from to 63% from 55%, while confidence that pension funds can continue to pay out pensions also increased, rising from 51% to 61%, the institution said.
DNB said: “This rise coincides with the ongoing transition to the new pension system. More pension funds have now switched to the new rules.”
Knowledge regarding the new system was also increasing, according to the survey, which was carried out among some 2,100 households this year, with 61% of households saying they were at least reasonably well-informed about it compared to 50% a year ago, according to DNB.
IPE’s sister publication Pensioen Pro said in its news report on the survey that an obvious explanation for the increasing confidence in pension funds and the new Wtp (Future Pensions Act) system lay in the increased funding ratios and the substantial transition bonuses distributed by many funds as of 1 January 2026.
In early April 2025, the average pension fund had a funding ratio of 118%, a metric which had risen to 125% by early April 2026 for funds that had not yet made the transition. Funds that had already transitioned had just increased benefit payouts, often by 10% or more, Pensioen Pro reported.
The Dutch Pension Federation (Pensioenfederatie), meanwhile, told Pensioen Pro that previous studies had shown “pension fund performance to be the primary driver of confidence”.
“The pensions of millions of people improved over the past year and the year before that - something that put the pension sector prominently in the news,” a spokesperson for the industry association said.
However, it was also notable in DNB’s survey more broadly that trust levels among the Dutch population had risen in all entities covered by the research — including the DNB, ECB, civil services, national politics, and financial institutions.
Among financial institutions, general trust in banks rose to 62% from 56%, slightly less than in pension funds, while trust in insurers remained stable at 45%, the survey showed.
