Authorities serve notice to 12 funds: cut pensions

THE HAGUE – The Dutch Financial watchdog, De Nederlandsche Bank, has served notice to twelve pension funds that they must quickly put their actuarial and financial house in order. The DNB and Social Affairs minister Piet Hein Donner alerted the nation to the perilous situation at the twelve institutions, which after previous internal warnings, had not sufficiently rectified their failure at meeting the country’s criteria. Eighteen funds had been warned to take measures to protect their liquidity. Adding to the alarm over the notice was the fact that none of the twelve were identified. The authorities expected them to advise their own clients along with their plan to restore compliance of the respective funds. The minister did indicate to the public that pensions paid by the twelve could be cut between 1 and 14 percent, premiums could be raised, or lump sum payments could be sought from affected employers, or a mix of all these options. The DNB had earlier given the funds until April 2012 to comply but further downward pressure at Europe’s stock markets required earlier action.