The €1bn Dutch Pensioenfonds Grontmij said it will place its pension rights with Het Nederlandse Pensioenfonds, the consolidation vehicle of insurer ASR, as of 1 July.

The scheme’s assets will be managed through the general pension fund (APF) in an individual compartment with its own stakeholder body comprising employer, staff and pensioner representatives.

Marius Schoppink, the scheme’s chair, cited the ever more complicated tasks of managing and governing a pension fund as the main reason for the consolidation decision.

He said the elaboration of the pensions agreement had also played a role in the move.

Employer Sweco said it was important that the current pension plan could continue unchanged, and that the company could keep having a say in its investment and contribution policy.

According to Schoppink, the scheme’s board had also looked into the options of continuing independently with outsourced administration and board support, or voluntarily joining an industry-wide pension fund.

He said the consolidation vehicle could accommodate Grontmij’s pension plan against lower costs.

By Grontmij joining the APF, Het Nederlandse Pensioenfonds’s combined assets under management will increase to €5bn, and the combined number of participants is to rise to more than 40,000.

The APF already has four compartments, occupied by Arcadis, Randstad Groep and Owase as well as a collective group comprising amusement park De Efteling, insurer Das, the association of Dutch commercial pilots, The One Shipping, Antargaz and Jindal Films.

Pensioenfonds Grontmij manages both the pensions for company Grontmij, which was taken over by engineering firm Sweco in 2015, as well as Sweco’s staff pensions.

The scheme has 1,500 workers, 1,700 pensioners as well as 3,500 deferred members.

At the end of January, its funding stood at 103%. Most of its assets are managed by BlackRock. Non-listed property is managed in house.

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