The Algemeen Mijnwerkersfonds (AMF), the €885m closed pension fund for coal miners in the Netherlands, has said it is “considering alternatives” for the management of its participants’ pensions.
Together with its sister scheme BFM, and advised by Towers Watson, it said it was now investigating its options for placing its pensions with an insurer.
The AMF’s board claimed that a review of the pension fund’s future would be “necessary”, as its population is to halve over the next decade, resulting in “increasingly expensive” management.
It said it was also becoming increasingly difficult to find qualified board candidates, and that rising life expectancy required ever-rising returns on investment to meet promised pensions.
The Algemeen Mijnwerkersfonds said it was therefore looking into the options of carrying on independently or starting a co-operation with other pension funds for miners.
At the end of 2012, the AMF managed pension assets for 26,733 pensioners, 1,793 deferred members and a single active participant.
The scheme reported returns on investments of 9.4% over 2012, and a funding ratio of 111.8% at January-end.
The BMF, its sister scheme, managed €155m for 2,283 pensioners and 47 deferred members in 2012.
Recently, it announced a second rights cut of 0.6% in April, following a 7% discount last year.
Last January, the miners scheme had a coverage ratio of 105%.
The BMF, which also reported a 9.4% result over 2012, said it had to make a provision of 13% of its total assets for increased longevity so far.
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