NETHERLANDS  - The €10bn pension fund of banking giant ING saw its cover ratio rise by 11 percentage points to 118% in 2009, after making additional provisions for longevity.

For the time being, the scheme has set aside 3% of its assets to cover rising liabilities associated with increased life expectancy, according to the firm’s preliminary figures.

ING pension plans officials said they expect investment returns to total approximately 15%, excluding returns on derivatives, and attributed the improved financial position of the pension fund largely to the rise in equity markets performance.

Elsewhere, the €4.6bn pension fund for KLM’s ground staff reported a 17.7% return on investments last year, with the last quarter contributing 2.7% to the result.

The funding ratio of the Stichting Algemeen Pensioenfonds KLM rose from 107.8% to 130.1% in 2009, it reported.

At the end of 2007, the scheme’s cover ratio was almost 180%.

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