Is your pension about to come into payment? Would you like to receive your pension straight away or defer it for a while and continue working? Most pension schemes allow you to defer your pension for up to five years after reaching the statutory retirement age.
Your pension will come into payment on the agreed retirement date. However, if you wish, you can opt to have your pension come into payment at a later date. This will largely depend on whether you need the money right now or not. You may decide that you want to continue working and receive your pension when you retire. Or, you might prefer to continue working and receive a pension every month. Another option is to have a part of your pension come into payment on the retirement date so that you only receive a portion of your pension. This means you can work on a part-time basis and defer a portion of your pension.
Please note: You will need to let us know if you have not yet arranged a partner's pension, and would like to do so, if you should die before the retirement date. In such a case, we will, again, use a portion of your pension to arrange a partner's pension for your partner.
It is important to figure out how your financial situation will be affected by whatever decision you make. If you opt to defer your pension, you will lose some money in the period spanning the original retirement date and the new retirement date. It could take a few years for you to make up this shortfall. You can calculate the exact level of the shortfall yourself or enlist the help of an independent adviser.
The example below is intended to give you an idea of how deferral could affect you:
| Suppose: the retirement date in your pension scheme is | 65 years |
| You would like to retire at | 67 years |
| If your pension comes into payment in your 65th year, you will receive the following sum on an annual basis for the rest of your life | €10,000 |
| If you die after your 65th year, your partner will receive the following sum on an annual basis | €7,000 |
| If your pension comes into payment in your 67th year, you will receive the following sum on an annual basis for the rest of your life* | €11,050 |
| If you die after your 65th year, your partner will receive the following sum on an annual basis | €7,000 |
If you decide to defer your pension until your 67th year, you will, eventually, receive a higher pension on a monthly basis. But you will also lose € 20,000 gross in the period between your 65th and 67th year. You will need to make up this shortfall, which takes about 19 years in this example.
You pay income tax on the pension you receive. If you defer your pension, this will affect your pension level as well as the age at which your pension comes into payment. This could mean you end up paying a different tax rate. The amount of income tax you will ultimately pay depends on several factors, such as your total income level, the income type and whether your pension comes into payment before or after you start receiving the state pension (AOW).
Find out more about income tax and pensions by visiting the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration’s page: The ins and outs of Income Tax.
Please note: If you would like to defer taking early retirement or if you would like to convert your pension into a higher, lifelong pension, other conditions will apply. Find out more about Early Retirement.
You will receive a letter and a form from us eight months before your pension comes into payment. You can use the form to inform us of your new retirement date. We ask you to do this as soon as possible. We will need to have received the form one month before your pension comes into payment, at the very latest. If you did not receive a form with your letter, please use the following form: Request to defer or bring forward the retirement date.
It can be tricky trying to decide whether a specific course of action is advisable in your particular situation. If you require assistance in this decision-making process, please contact an independent adviser. He or she is there to give you customized advice. Please be sure to discuss in advance what your adviser will charge for this service and if any additional services are required and what they entail.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any other questions We are available on +31 (0)30 257 44 00 on working days from 8.30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Alternatively, you can complete the contact form. We will be pleased to help you.