The value of shares held by Dutch households fell 27% or €66bn in 2008, but they still performed better than pension funds, the national statistics office said on Wednesday.

The value of shares held by pension funds and insurance companies fell by 33% or €160bn, the CBS said in its review of the Dutch economy in 2008. Banks’ shareholdings went down in value by 21% or €25bn.
Despite an average 3.5% pay rise last year, spending power only rose by 0.5 of a percentage point. Increasing pension and healthcare premiums were to blame as well as the effects of the recession, the CBS said.

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