PME to increase pensions by 0.3 percent
On 1 January 2025, PME Pension Fund will increase all of its participants’ pensions by 0.3%. The 27.98% contribution rate and the 1.875% accrual rate will remain the same in 2025. The policy funding ratio at the end of October 2024 was 112.5%. PME’s assets were EUR 58.8 billion at the end of October.
Eric Uijen, Executive Board Chairman: “In spring 2024, we carefully considered whether PME should make use of the relaxed regulatory framework allowing the increase of pensions this year ahead of our transition to a new pension scheme. This would allow us to increase pensions sooner, with a lower funding ratio. At the same time, it would also mean that if funding levels worsened, we would have to reduce pensions. As a result, because of the uncertainty surrounding interest rate developments and financial markets, we decided in April not to make use of the relaxed rules. The consequence is that we can now implement only a very limited increase.
With this increase, we are not offsetting last year’s inflation and I understand if our participants and pensioners had hoped for more. However, I believe that we made the right decision. Offering a larger increase now might raise the risk of having to reduce pensions when switching to the new pension scheme. We are keen to avoid that situation. As we transition to the new scheme, our fund’s financial position should be strong enough to maintain, or preferably increase, the pensions of our participants and pensioners. By limiting the increase in 2025, we boost such prospects and the chances of a smooth transition.”
PME has some 170,000 pensioners who will see a slight increase in their retirement benefits from January 2025. In February, over 180,000 of our participants still accruing pension and over 270,000 of our former participants will see on their personal pension benefit statement on their participant portal that the pension they had accrued increased by 0.3%.
Do you want to know more about the most recent increase? Then take a look at this page.