Success of transition depends on participants’ understanding and trust

For the AFM Transition Bulletin, Kaya de Lange, CEO of BeFrank, recently shared her views on the transition to the new pension system. She was asked three questions about the transition to the new pension system. “I truly believe that communication is a shared challenge for the sector and the regulator alike.”

The biggest opportunity and the biggest risk of the new pension system

“The new pension system presents a tremendous opportunity to make pensions more personal and easier to understand. Participants will have a much clearer view of how their pension assets develop and what choices they can make. Pensions as an employee benefit will also become easier to compare. You will be able to see exactly what percentage of pension accrual an employer offers, while factors such as age and age-related contribution scales will no longer play a role. I believe this will have a positive impact on the market. I also expect sentiment towards the third pillar to change. Why build up pension only through your employer? The expansion of the tax-advantaged allowance in the third pillar creates opportunities for the sector as well.

The main risk of the new system is that we become overly focused on the system itself and on legislation. I can already see this happening. Pension providers are primarily concentrating on meeting hard transition deadlines and remaining compliant. Yet the success of the transition ultimately depends on whether participants understand it and continue to trust the pension system. That requires creativity and innovation, things that are not prescribed by legislation. Pension providers must also be able to focus on that.”

An insight for the sector

“Focus on the participant. They are the ones who need to understand the changes and maintain confidence in the system. That is not always easy when it comes to transition communications. At BeFrank, we conduct extensive research into clarity and comprehension. We have found that participants often consider transition statements too long and too detailed. As a result, there is a significant risk that many participants will not read them. That is why I am pleased that transition communications allow plenty of scope for layered communication. However, we and other pension providers still have work to do to ensure that this layered approach truly works. We set high standards for ourselves.”

Read the full article on the AFM website (in Dutch).

This article was originally published on afm.nl on 15 September 2026.