Jetta Klijnsma, state secretary for Social Affairs in the Netherlands, has said she expects to present Parliament with a framework for a “fundamental political discussion” on updating the pensions system in early 2015. 

Earlier this week at a Netspar conference in Rotterdam, Klijnsma said a new website would be created to encourage “open dialogue”, in which “no subject would be considered off-limits”.

According to the state secretary, discussions with citizens, social partners, pensions providers, academics and representative organisations for young workers and the elderly would start after this summer.

She said the talks would need to address whether and to what extent participants should be allowed to choose their own pensions provider, the pension level they expect to receive and the premium level they are prepared to pay to achieve this.

She said she also wanted to know more about which investment risks participants were willing to accept and “how far solidarity with their fellow participants should stretch”.

The dialogue must also provide an answer to the question of who is to participate in pensions accrual, she said, and through which collective entity.

The state secretary said she wanted to gather more information on the possible demarcation of future responsibilities, predicting that the relationship between the social partners, the government and indivuals would change.

In addition, Klijnsma said she aimed to find an answer as to how pension funds could contribute more to the local economy, while underlining the importance of an increased labour participation among older workers, “as pensions rights need to be earned, after all”.

The state secretary reiterated that she expected that the long overdue bill for the financial assessment framework (FTK) could be presented to Parliament before the summer.

She said she expected Parliament to review the new legislation for pensions communication later this year.

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