NETHERLANDS – PGGM, the €70bn Dutch healthcare and social work pension fund, has named Marc van den Berg as chief operating officer of investments as of May 1.

The Zeist-based scheme said he has been working for PGGM as a senior development manager since February 2005 and was previously a partner in KPMG and Nolan, Norton & Co.

The fund added that Johan van der Ende has been appointed director of structured investments from July 1. He was PGGM’s acting COO since March 2005 and previously worked at ING.

PGGM also named Paul Wevers as director of corporate communications and public affairs. He is a former director of pensions for the Construction Industry Social Fund.

Elsewhere, De Nederlandsche Bank says it has surveyed the 25 largest pension funds and found that new early retirement act is having a net downward impact on pension contributions of almost 1%.

The act was “prompting the social partners to withdraw pre-pension schemes in stages, with a downward effect on pension contributions” .

Its latest statistical bulletin added: “In reaction to the Act, most pension funds are, however, making greater use of the fiscal scope to build up a higher old age pension by raising the accrual rates and lowering the public pension offset.

“This extra pension can be exchanged by participants at any time for a lower pension that commences before they reach the age of 65. This has an upward effect on pension contributions. On balance, these compensatory measures on pension contributions account for a decrease (-0.8%) of pension contributions in 2006.”

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