Your road to retirement: how does retirement work?
At some point, you’ll retire. You’ll be able to enjoy some well-earned free time. But what needs to happen before then? Here’s a summary of the key steps.
Ten years before your retirement date
- Go to your personal pension page to check your total expected pension amount.
- Think about whether the amount will be enough for you to live off later on. Do you need more in order to do the things that matter to you?
- Check whether you have any pension funds with any other pension administrators. You can find a summary at Mijnpensioenoverzicht.nl. Download this file and add it to your pension overview. We explain exactly how this works on your personal pension page.
You can also make choices that affect your pension. Those choices are outlined below.
Your pension choices
There are several choices that affect your pension:
> Earlier or later retirement
Want to retire early or continue working for longer? Both choices will affect your expected pension. That is why you need to tell us how old you want to be when you retire. We will adjust your expected pension benefits accordingly.
> Full pension or part-time pension
You will purchase benefits using the pension that you have accrued. You have various options. You can use the amount in one go for benefits. You can also use part of the amount on benefits – we call that a ‘part-time pension’.
> Partner’s pension: to insure or not to insure?
If you have a partner, you might want to co-insure that person. If you pass away unexpectedly, your pension will then partially go to your partner.
> Variable or fixed pension
We currently invest your entire pension contribution. When you retire, we will stop doing that and transfer your accrued pension to a pension administrator of your choice.
You can choose to continue investing through your pension administrator – we call this a variable pension. This may either increase or decrease the value of your pension.
If you’d rather not run that risk, opt for a fixed pension. Throughout your life, a fixed amount will be paid into your account each month.
> Equal or high-low pension
Want to receive the same amount in your account for the rest of your life? Opt for an equal pension.
A high-low pension gives you other options, such as having a higher amount paid out in the first few years. After that, that amount will drop slightly.
Six months before retirement
Roughly six months before you retire, we will send you a letter explaining your pension options.
If you’re having difficulty deciding, get in touch with a financial advisor. You can always contact BeFrank for more information. We are not allowed to give advice.
Three months before retirement
Retirement is just around the corner, so it’s time to request quotes from pension insurers. Why? We will transfer the pension you have accrued to a pension insurer, who will then pay the pension to you.
Your personal pension page has a useful tool that you can use to request fictitious quotes. This shows you the approximate amount an insurer can offer you. You can get quotes yourself or ask a financial advisor to do this for you. It depends on what’s easiest for you.
Once you have found an insurer and you agree to the quote, inform BeFrank of your decision.
We will sell your investments on your selected retirement date and transfer your pension capital to your pension insurer. From then on, your pension insurer will deposit your pension into your account each month. All you need to do then is: enjoy!
Leaving the Netherlands before you retire?
This will affect your pension. What do you need to know?
- Your State Pension will stop from that moment on. You will receive State Pension for the years you lived in the Netherlands.
- Once you reach the State Pension Age, contact the Tax and Customs Administration in Heerlen. The employees will deposit your state old-age benefit into your bank account. You can contact them on the Tax Phone Line Abroad: +31 555 385 385.
- We still invest the pension capital you have already accrued.
- In some cases, you can transfer your pension to a foreign pension institution. We call this an ‘international value transfer’. This depends on the country where you will be living. Bear in mind that this is a long and complex process.