DENMARK - Commercial pension provider AP Pension said its profit for 2011 would be more than 10% and that it would maintain the account dividend it pays on traditional with-profits plans at 4.7% before tax for 2012.

Søren Dal Thomsen, director, said: "Despite falls in share prices and bond yields, and in spite of storms in the European economy, AP Pension has come through 2011 with a great result. We are looking forward to profit on the right side of 10."

Because of this, the commercial pensions group has been able to keep the account dividend at 4.7% for the whole of this year and will maintain it at the same level from 1 January 2012, he said.

After tax, the dividend would amount to 4%.

Dal Thomsen said: "Our reserves have been further strengthened, and we expect a level of profit in 2012 to cover an account dividend of that size."

However, if economic assumptions change significantly during the coming year, AP Pension said it reserved the right to adjust the payout.

Meanwhile, the account dividend paid out by pensions administrator Unipension is climbing to a pre-tax 5% in 2012 from 4.7%, but it also warned the payout could change if the environment worsened next year.

After tax, the account dividend - made up of a basic interest rate and a yield bonus - would rise to 4.25% from 4% in 2010, Unipension said.

Managing director Cristina Lage said: "Not nearly all pension funds have reported their account dividends for 2012, but I certainly dare to say our members are getting one of the sector's best dividends due to the solidity of the pension funds."

But she warned that the unresolved and unstable European economic situation was unsettling financial markets, and said pension funds were following these developments closely.

"If there is a slip in efforts to solve the crisis, or if new legislation is introduced or if we see a national debt default in Europe, then of course we may reconsider the account dividend," Lage said.

Unipension is the joint administration company for three Danish professional pension funds - the Architects' Pension Fund (AP), the Pension Fund for Danish MAs, MScs and PhDs (MP) and the Pension Fund for Agricultural Academics and Veterinary Surgeons (PJD).

Managing assets of around DKK80bn (€10.8bn), it recently announced plans to launch its own asset management company, with Lage named chairman.        
 

Topics