Transparency about pension costs at BeFrank

At At BeFrank, we aim for the highest quality. At a fair price. We are transparent about this. Pension contributions, insurance risk premiums, administration costs and investment costs are always shown separately. This ensures that both employers and employees know exactly where they stand.

What do we charge the employer?

Pension contribution
At BeFrank, we invest the full pension contribution that is paid in. This means employees see 100% of this amount credited to their personal pension page.

Risk premiums
We charge premiums for risk insurance separately. This includes, for example, partner’s and orphan’s pensions. Insurance for waiver of contributions in case of occupational disability is also included.

Administration costs
These are the costs BeFrank charges for maintaining and administering the pension scheme. The amount of administration costs an employer pays depends on the number of employees participating in the scheme.

Implementation and service costs
To incorporate the pension contract into our systems, we may charge a one-off implementation fee. For interim changes, additional requests or specific requirements during the term of the contract, we charge service fees. The service document sets out the agreements between the employer and BeFrank.

Premiums for the pension insurance policies are always charged separately, as are the administration fees. 

What does the employee pay?

Pension and risk premiums in line with the agreement with the employer
Depending on the arrangements agreed with the employer, (additional) pension contributions are deducted from the gross salary. The same applies to premiums for any (voluntary) insurance policies. An example is the premium for the Anw survivor benefit shortfall insurance. The employer shows these deductions on the payslip.

BeFrank management costs
BeFrank charges management costs for, among other things:

• Establishing, implementing and maintaining the investment policy.
• Maintaining individual investment accounts, as shown on employees’ personal pension pages.

The level of management costs is set out in the pension regulations. Employees can also see the percentage on their personal pension page.

We calculate the costs daily based on the value of the investments at the end of each day. Management costs are also charged on any (as yet) uninvested balance on the pension account. These costs are deducted quarterly in arrears from the value of the pension account.

Employees can view these management costs in the transaction and order overview on their personal pension page.

Fund manager costs
These are the investment costs that employees pay via the fund manager:

• Fund charges (Ongoing Charges Figure – OCF)
  The fund manager charges fees for managing a fund, such as a management fee and audit costs. These are expressed as a percentage: the Ongoing Charges Figure (OCF) and are incorporated into the fund price.
• Entry and exit charges
  The fund manager charges entry and exit fees when buying and selling investments. The level of these fees varies by fund and is determined by the fund manager. These costs are intended to protect existing investors from investors entering, making additional contributions, or exiting the fund. The charges are automatically reflected in the purchase and sale prices of the investment funds.

To achieve the best possible investment results, it is important to keep costs under control. That is why we keep investment costs low. How do we do this? We only select funds with a low-cost structure.