It is becoming increasingly likely that a number of pension funds will have to cut pay-outs next year because first quarter figures show many fund assets are still below the legal limit.

Funds must have a coverage ratio of at least 105% – meaning they have sufficient assets to cover all their obligations, plus 5% leeway.
But the massive civil service fund ABP for example, is still only on 95%, making a pension cut more likely. The country’s second biggest fund Zorg en Welzijn is on 96%.
In December, it emerged that over 100 pension funds were in the danger zone.
In January, the Dutch central bank opted to use a three-month average rather than the year-end interest rate to make the calculations. This is because interest rates have been extremely low for a long period. The lower the interest rate, the higher pension fund reserves need to be.