Pension benefit
When you retire, the amount of your benefit is not fixed.
What is uncertain is how high the contribution is in the long term and whether the expected investment returns actually materialise. The final pension result depends on these uncertain factors.
For pensioners, this means that from the moment they step in, the pension benefit is increased immediately. Active and former members can also expect higher pension benefits, but this depends on investment performance and the level of contribution after the 5-year agreement.
Pension benefit is variable
But we expect to maintain purchasing power in the long term through investment returns. We therefore invest about 40% in equities in the benefit phase and this is appropriate to the risk attitude of the members we have surveyed through a risk preference study (RPO). Returns may sometimes be negative. We want to minimise the chance that we will have to reduce pensions in payment in any year. Therefore, we maintain a risk-sharing reserve and spread returns, both positive and negative, over 3 years at all times.
Fixed benefit is also possible
Pensioners may also opt for a fixed benefit with an insurer. In that case, we transfer the capital and those pensioners are no longer members of the Robeco Pension Fund.