Marathon talks between unions and employers have failed to produce an agreement on changes to the current Dutch corporate pension system and will continue after the weekend.

Prime minister Mark Rutte was also involved in the talks at the social affairs ministry for a time but declined to comment on the progress to reporters.

Unions and employers are trying to come to a deal about pension reform which will then become the basis for new legislation.

The change is necessary because the aging population is putting more pressure on the current pension system and pension funds are having to pay out to more people for longer. Talks on reform began several years ago.

State pension age

One important theme has been the way the rise in the state pension age has been linked to increasing life expectancy. Unions in particular say this is forcing people who do heavy physical labour to work too long in arduous jobs.

The state pension age in the Netherlands is currently 66 but will rise to 67 and three months by 2022. However, sources in The Hague have told broadcaster NOS that ministers are prepared to relax this rule, despite the considerable cost to the treasury.

The government is also keen to introduce ‘personal pension pots’ to bring more flexibility into the pension system. Currently, the Dutch corporate pension sector is dominated by industry or company-based schemes.

The Dutch pension scheme is widely considered to be one of the best in the world.