The two clients of Dutch insurer Delta Lloyd’s general pension fund (APF) have joined Centraal Beheer APF, part of the Achmea Group.

The move followed Delta Lloyd’s decision in October to exit the APF market after the insurer was taken over by NN Group.

According to Ruud Hagendijk, chairman of the Delta Lloyd APF, both employers – funeral business Yarden and waste processor ATM – fully supported the switch.

“The good thing is that both accrued pension rights and future accrual have been transferred to Centraal Beheer APF,” he said. “The 1,400 participants [will] notice little of the change and their pension plan remains unchanged by and large.”

In October, the board of Delta Lloyd APF – a consolidator of Dutch pension funds – decided to liquidate after struggling to attract new customers. NN indicated that it wanted to continue with its own offering in this market – De Nationale APF – and the Delta Lloyd APF had failed to find other financiers in time.

“This was in part caused by the uncertainty about the future of the Dutch pensions system,” explained Hagendijk. “Potential clients tended to postpone decisions.”

The chairman said the set up of Centraal Beheer APF was aligned with the philosophy of the Delta Lloyd scheme, while offering more flexibility.

He added that Centraal Beheer APF had already been high on the shortlists of Yarden and ATM when they were initially considering transferring to an APF.

The board of Delta Lloyd APF will spend the coming months completing the liquidation.

According to Hagendijk, the scheme’s own assets were still sufficient to finance this process.

Volo, the APF founded by pensions provider and asset manager PGGM, is also to be liquidated after its parent company decided to exit the market.

It hasn’t yet announced the new pensions provider for the staff of its two affiliated employers, Ortec and chocolate manufacturer Jan Huysman.

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