At least 100 Dutch pension funds will have to cut payouts in 2013 if they do not improve their financial position quickly, according to the head of the sector’s umbrella group in the Financieele Dagblad.

The cuts, which will affect over one million people, will average 3% but could be as much as 15%, Gerard Rieman, director of the Pensioenfederatie is quoted as saying. He bases his claims on the latest figures held by the central bank.
‘The bill has to be paid now,’ Rieman told the paper.
Targets
The funds are in trouble because their coverage ratio has fallen below 105% which means their assets cover 105% of their obligations. However some are also not meeting recovery targets set in 2009, in the aftermath of the previous financial crisis, the FD says.
On Wednesday, the central bank said pension funds which had fallen below the 105% limit would not have to put up premiums immediately. Instead they would be given a year to come up with a recovery plan.
This is because a sharp rise in premiums would not be beneficial to the economy, the bank said.
However, pension funds which were given more time to get their finances in order in 2009 would not get a further extension, the bank said.
The Netherlands’ biggest pension fund, the civil service ABP, said on Thursday its coverage ratio had dropped to 90%.