People receiving a pension from the engineering workers pension fund PME face a 6% to 7% cut in their pensions next year, the organisation said on Thursday.

The cut – between €10 and €20 a month – will be introduced if the fund’s coverage ratio is not ‘in order’ by the end of this year, PME officials said in a statement, quoted by news agency ANP.
PME covers thousands of former workers for companies such as Stork, Draka and Daf.
Pension funds are required to have a coverage ratio of at least 105%, meaning they have enough assets to meet 105% of their pension requirements.
Millions of pensioners
According to news agency ANP, if the cut goes ahead it will be the first time so many former workers have been affected by reduced pensions.
The Financieele Dagblad on Thursday says civil service pension fund ABP and the smaller engineering fund PMT will also be forced to cut payouts unless the economy improves.
Together, the three funds represent 4.7 million people, the paper said.
The paper bases its claim on company sources. The five biggest pension funds in the country are due to publish their fourth quarter figures today.