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Netherlands strengthened Pension fund PCN with 31 million USD

News item | 30-05-2018 | 00:00

Government employers involved and the Stichting Pensioenfonds Caribisch Nederland (PCN) have agreed on measures to strengthen the pension fund Caribbean Netherlands The most important measure is that fund capital is strengthened by a total of $ 31 million.

PCN-Chairman Harald Linkels (left) and acting Kingdom Representative Jan Helmond signed the agreement.

The agreement is the result of talks between PCN and the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK), coordinating ministry on behalf of the Cabinet.  As employer, the government, feels responsible for the pension  the civil servants employed by the Rijksdienst Caribisch Nederland, Public enties and care institutions in Caribbean Netherlands. After the preparations by the official top and the board of PCN, State Secretary Knops officially approved the agreements made.

Additional contribution

As a result of the agreement, PCN will receive a one-off amount of $ 25 million before the end of 2018, while starting in 2018 during a period of six years, each year an additional $ 1 million will be transferred to the fund as an additional contribution. The Netherlands strengthens PCN pension by a total of 31 million dollars through a deposit from the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations.  These amounts are in addition to the premiums paid by employers and employees collectively.

Reden

The reason for the strengthening of capital, is the fact that the fund had to deal with a number of specific, difficult circumstances since it was founded in 2010. For example, PCN is a small pension fund that has to deal with  American financial markets. The fund is the only Dutch pension fund that is subject to regulations specifically written for the Caribbean Netherlands. Partly due to these specific characteristics, the fund has fallen into financial trouble, necessitating a reduction on the entitlements of pension benefits and pension entitlements of 3,5% as per April 2017. 

In the build-up to these agreements, the future-proofing of the fund was also examined. In coming period, this will be discussed further with, among others, the trade unions.