NETHERLANDS - Dutch social affairs minister Henk Kamp has called for industry-wide pension schemes to set up supervisory boards as part of a bill that sets out to improve governance and co-decision-making.

Kamp also proposed giving pensioners a seat on schemes' boards, which could also be made up of external professional members.

After consulting the pensions sector and experts, the minister said pension funds could pick one of two proposed board models, one of which is the current model of representatives of employers and employees, but extended with pensioners and - optionally - external experts.

The second model consists wholly of external professional board members, supervised by a stakeholders' body of employers, workers and pensioners.

Kamp said reporting on SRI investment and its effects on investment policy would also become mandatory.

The bill on governance and co-decision-making has been sent to the Council of State for urgent legal advice.

The bill is scheduled to be presented to parliament in December, the minister said, adding that only then would its exact contents be made public.

Previously, Kamp said internal supervision - usually a visitation committee reporting every three years - must be carried out by a permanent supervisory council, or through a yearly visitation for company schemes.

He also said he wanted to tighten up the expertise requirements for policymakers at pension funds, and turn the accountability body into a new participants council, with both advisory powers and accountability tasks, that could also offer seats to deferred participants.

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