Can I choose whether or not to have my pension switched to the new pension?

We often receive questions about the new pension. One often-heard question is whether you can choose to have your pension transferred to the new rules. Marcel van Gooswilligen, an account manager at Pensioenfonds PGB, is involved in the agreements regarding the new pension. He answers this question.

16 October 2025

No, you can’t make that choice yourself

We expect to switch to the new pension on 1 January 2027. The new rules will, in any case, apply to the pension you accrue from that date onwards. This is stipulated in the Future Pensions Act. And in most cases, the new rules also apply to the pension you accrued before the transition to the new pension.

Employers and employees have made agreements

Whether your accrued pension will be transferred to the new rules depends on the agreements made by employers and employees. If you fall under an industry, these agreements were made by trade unions and employers' organisations. There has been a lot of consultation beforehand. Pensioners were also given the opportunity to express their views through the right to be heard.

Most pensions will be fully switched to the new rules

This is, in any case, true if you work or worked in one of the following industries:

Graphic media industry
Paint and printing ink industry
Plastics, rubber and adhesive industry (if this is agreed in your collective labour agreement)
Sea fishing
Wholesale of flowers and plants
Wholesale of potatoes (AVH)
Fruit and vegetable wholesale (AVH)
Wholesale of cheese and private cheese warehousing (AVH)
Egg, egg product wholesale, and egg product industry (AVH)
Travel industry
Cardboard and flexible packaging industry

Sometimes, the current rules continue to apply

If you do not or did not work in one of the industries listed above, the pension you accrued with us before 1 January 2027 may not be transferred to the new rules. This will be the case in the following situations:

Your (former) employer chooses not to convert already accrued pensions to the new rules. This is only possible if your (former) employer can demonstrate that some groups of (former) employees are much more disadvantaged by the transition to the new rules than other groups.
Your former employer has gone out of business and can, therefore, not make any agreements about whether or not to switch to the new pension.
Your (former) employer has not made any agreements about the new pension.

The current rules will continue to apply to the pension entitlements you already accrued.

You will find the agreements made by your (former) employer on our website later this year

You can also ask your (former) employer about this. You will also receive a personal letter about your pension in 2026.  