A System in Transition
The Netherlands is currently in the middle of switching to a new national pension system, with all pension funds required to complete the transition by January 2028. More than half have already made the switch. The change matters enormously for workers in their forties and fifties.

Under the old framework, younger employees paid higher contributions to support retirees, with the expectation that future generations would eventually do the same for them. The new system abandons that model, which means the middle-aged workers who spent years contributing extra for those above them will never see that benefit returned. To make this fair, employers and employees are supposed to agree on compensation before the fund transitions.

Depending on salary and tenure, that figure can range from several thousand to tens of thousands of euros.

The catch is straightforward but painful: only active fund members at the time of transition qualify. Workers who are laid off become dormant members — their pension money stays in the fund, but they stop accruing, and they lose their right to compensation.



ING Employees Left Out
That is exactly the situation facing hundreds of ING workers this year. A bank spokesperson confirmed that the social plan negotiated with trade unions does not include a right to this pension compensation. ING said it would look into whether some arrangement might still .