If you are getting a divorce or separating, you must make arrangements about how to divide the pension accrued during the relationship. Legally, your ex-partner is entitled to half of your retirement pension. If you want a different division, you would be well-advised to visit your legal adviser to make a record of these arrangements.
Sometimes it’s hard to reach agreement with an ex-partner. If you do not record what you have agreed, the standard division will apply: legally, your ex-partner will be entitled to half of the retirement pension you have built up during your marriage or registered partnership. If a partner’s pension with benefit accrual is insured under your pension scheme, your ex-partner is also entitled to the partner’s pension accrued until the date in question. This is also the case if you have only cohabited with your partner and the relationship ends. Your ex-partner is then entitled to a special partner’s pension.
Once you have reached agreement with your ex-partner about the division of your pension, you can take the following steps:
If you are married or in a registered partnership and are getting divorced or separated, BRP will automatically notify us of the divorce or separation.
Please note: If you separate from a person with whom you have been cohabiting, this is not notified through the Municipal Personal Records Database and you should therefore inform us by means of a ‘Statement of termination of joint household’.
You should complete this questionnaire and send it to us, together with your prenuptial agreement, divorce settlement or deed of termination of cohabitation.
If you have made arrangements for the division of your retirement pension, you should also complete and send us the Notice of divorce/separation in connection with retirement pension division form (Dutch only). If you have been a member of two or more pension schemes with different pension administrators, you should download and complete the corresponding number of forms.
Please note: After your divorce or separation, you have two years to lodge the Notice of divorce/separation in connection with retirement pension division form (Dutch only) with us. We will then arrange for the part of the retirement pension owed to you and your ex-partner to be paid to each of you directly. This will relieve you of the need to make the arrangements for the transfer to your ex-partner yourself.
Once we have received all the necessary documents and the data are complete, we send you a confirmation of the division of your pension. This specifies what part of the accrued pension you and your ex-partner are each entitled to receive.
We enter the final division of the pension in our system. You and your ex-partner each receive a benefit statement.
If you remarry after divorce or start cohabiting with a new partner after separating from a former partner, this will not usually affect the existing pension arrangements. If you were entitled to part of your ex-partner’s retirement pension after the divorce or separation, this entitlement will continue to exist. The same applies to your right to special partner’s pension.
Your ex-partner may possibly retain entitlement to part of your retirement pension, if you die, he or she will get a special partner’s pension. Your new partner is entitled to the partner’s pension you accrue after the divorce or separation.
If you have a risk-based partner’s pension, your ex-partner and your new partner are assured of receiving part of the partner's pension as long as you remain in the service of your employer. If you leave service and you die before reaching the retirement date of the pension scheme, neither ex-partner nor your new partner have any further entitlement to partner’s pension.
If you are an ex-partner and pension capital becomes available with which you must buy a special partner’s pension, find out how you can do this on the Purchase of a special partner’s pension page.
If so, please contact your employer. Please feel free to contact us at any time. We are available by telephone on business days from 8.30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on +31 (0)30 257 42 66. Alternatively, you can complete the contact form. We are here to help.