The €6.6bn pension fund PostNL has reported a 5.3% return on its investments over the second quarter.

As a result, its coverage ratio improved by 0.8 percentage points to 113.4%.

Following a drop in interest rates, the scheme’s interest hedge – through swaptions – contributed 1.7 percentage points to its quarterly result.

Its 61.1% fixed income allocation delivered a quarterly return of 2.9%, also due to falling interest rates, according to PostNL.

The pension fund reported a 7% return on equity, with holdings in emerging markets performing well.

Developed country equities and call options also made positive contributions, the scheme said.

Property generated 5.1% due to positive results on listed real estate, as well as European non-listed property.

Commodities were the main driver behind the 2.1% quarterly result on alternatives.

Over the first six months of the year, PostNL’s equity investments returned 8.7%, while its fixed income and property holdings produced 5.2% and 7.4%, respectively.

Elsewhere, workers and employers in the care insurance sector agreed on compensation for the reduction of annual tax-friendly pensions accrual from 2.15% to 1.875% of salary.

Part of the deal is a reduction of the contribution from 20.7% to 19.9%, as well as a 1.8% salary increase.

The franchise – the part of the salary exempt from pension accrual – will also be lowered from €15,225 to €13,725, while the surviving relative’s pension will be raised from 65% to 70% of the achievable pension.

In addition, instead of financing unconditional indexation, the employers agreed to establish a separate indexation fund to be topped up by the sponsors with an annual amount of 2.85% of combined salaries.

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