Good employment benefits are important for your employees, but also for you as a business owner or organisation. We understand better than anyone the importance of having a suitable pension scheme in place. After salary, a pension scheme is one of the most important and costly employee benefits. It is therefore essential that, as an employer, you receive sound, independent and transparent guidance when setting up, amending or renewing your pension arrangements. Our consultants can explain these complex matters in clear, understandable language and advise you on the pension arrangements best suited to your organisation.

In addition, we provide advice on a wide range of issues, with specialist expertise in legal, tax and actuarial matters. These include:

• Changes arising from new laws and regulations
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Harmonisation and implementation of schemes
• Mandatory participation in industry-wide pension funds
• IFRS valuations

The Dutch Future Pensions Act (Wet toekomst pensioenen) came into effect on 1 July 2023, bringing significant changes to pension accrual in the Netherlands. The minimum starting age has been lowered from 21 to 18. Pension accrual can now only be based on an age-independent contribution rate, meaning a fixed contribution percentage. In addition, pension benefits for partners and children in the event of an employee’s death are calculated differently, namely as a percentage of the employee’s salary. As a result, all pension schemes in the Netherlands will need to be amended, either in full or in part.

For employers, it is important to understand how these changes affect their pension scheme and what options are available, enabling them to determine their pension policy for the future. Our impact analysis provides clear insight into the financial and other implications for both employers and employees. Our experienced consultants can guide you through this process towards a future-proof pension scheme.

Managing these employee benefits, including sickness absence management, disability insurance and pension schemes, requires expertise, attention, knowledge and experience. The financial interests involved are significant, and with employers facing an increasing duty of care, it is essential that administration and communication are handled accurately and efficiently.

Through the Crowe Benefits Portal, we take full responsibility for the administrative management of these schemes, while both you and your employees can contact us with any questions. By linking your payroll administration to our Crowe Benefits Portal, changes to your employee records only need to be entered in one place. We then ensure that the relevant information is processed by the appropriate providers.

Once a year, we hold a review meeting in which we discuss not only your employee benefit schemes, but also developments within your organisation and recent changes in relevant laws and regulations. This ensures that your schemes remain up to date and enables us to respond quickly to changing circumstances.

As an employer, you want your employees to recognise and appreciate the value of their insured employee benefits. Clear communication about these benefits is therefore essential. In addition, the new pension legislation, which aims to create a more personalised pension system, means that employees will increasingly need to make their own choices. These may relate to investment risk and investment options, as well as participation in voluntary schemes.

To support this, we use a benefits platform that explains your employee benefit schemes in clear and accessible language. At a glance, your employees can see their expected net income if they become ill, pass away or retire. Through the platform, we can also provide presentations, including inviting employees, send periodic reminders and updates, and even offer individual financial planning consultations.

Throughout your life, you may encounter events such as retirement, death, incapacity for work or divorce. However, comprehensive financial planning is not always necessary.

Following an efficient online assessment of your circumstances, we develop a personalised pension plan for you as a director-major shareholder (DGA). Our DGA pension plan provides a clear and straightforward overview of what you will need and when. We review the plan with you periodically and adjust it where necessary to reflect changes in your circumstances. This optimisation is carried out in close collaboration with our other advisers, such as your accountant and tax adviser.