The rules governing the lump-sum settlement of small pensions are being amended. You will no longer be obliged to withdraw small pension amounts before retirement. Instead, pension funds and insurers will consolidate small pensions.
Small pension
The days when people worked for the same employer until retirement are long gone. These days, a person’s working life consists of several jobs. However, these different jobs also mean different pensions with several pension funds or insurers. This often results in small pension entitlements.
From buy-out to merger
At present, a pension provider may decide, at its own discretion, to surrender such a small pension two years after the end of the employee’s membership, due to the high administrative costs. However, such a surrender is not in the employee’s best interests, as it means they will not build up an adequate pension.
That is why pension providers and social partners have decided to merge small pensions rather than allow them to be bought out. Exactly how this will work is not yet known. The plans to amend the scheme for the lump-sum settlement of small pensions are set out in a bill that will shortly be tabled in the House of Representatives. The new scheme is due to come into force in January 2018.