Your employees accrue income for later with their pension scheme. Do they do this through a defined contribution scheme? Then your employees invest the contribution for their pension. With the value of their investments, your employees buy a fixed or variable pension income on their retirement date.
It is important that your employees consider this choice in good time. That way, we can already take their provisional choice into account before their retirement date and adjust the investment mix to reflect that choice. This applies to HorizonBeleggen and ProfielBeleggen and is referred to as preparing for a fixed or variable pension income. In the case of VrijBeleggen, the employee determines the mix of the investments themselves.
Choice between a fixed and variable pension
If your employee is about to retire, they can choose between a fixed or a variable pension with Zwitserleven, or a combination of those two.
- With a fixed pension, your employee receives the same amount of pension income each month. We will determine this amount on the date on which your employee retires.
- If your employee opts for a variable pension, he or she will continue to invest part of the pension capital after the retirement date. We will then redetermine your employee’s pension income every year.
Your employee has chosen the form of investment HorizonBeleggen
Does your employee have the form of investment HorizonBeleggen? If so, you will lay down in the pension scheme what the starting point is: preparing for a fixed pension or preparing for a variable pension. The employee may deviate from this. Does the employee not make a choice? Then we will assume the standard choice in your pension scheme.
If your employee opts to prepare for a fixed or variable pension, we will provide a mix of investments that best suits your employee’s wishes during the period in which they receive pension income. In doing so, we take into account the risk that all participants can and will take in HorizonBeleggen. The starting point for preparing for a fixed or variable pension will then be 12 years before the retirement date.
Your employee has the form of investment ProfielBeleggen
Does your employee have the form of investment ProfielBeleggen? In that case, the employee can opt to prepare for a fixed or variable pension and influence the mix of the investments themselves. To this end, it is important that an employee determines their investor profile. That way, the mix of investments better fits the degree of risk the employee wants and is able to take, and fits better with their personal situation and wishes.
The employee decides whether they wants to prepare all or part of the value of plan assets themselves. Your employee can easily notifies us of this in MijnZwitserleven. The starting point for preparing for a variable pension depends on the chosen investor profile.
Your employee has the form of investment VrijBeleggen
Does your employee have the form of investment VrijBeleggen? In that case, the employee determines the mix of the investments themselves. And the employee determines the extent to which the investment risk is reduced the closer the employee gets to the standard retirement date. Does the employee want a fixed or variable pension income on the retirement date? Then the employee must take this into account in the mix of investments.
Notify us of or change the choice at a later date
Does your employee have a provisional preference for a fixed or variable pension income? If so, we ask your employee to inform us of this before the start date of the reduction of the investment risk. Your employee receives notice of this about six months in advance. Your employee may notify or change their provisional choice at a later date. If your employee starts preparing for a fixed or variable pension at a later time or changes the choice before the retirement date, the result of the investments may not be optimal. The investments are then exposed to more or less risk than is appropriate. This may have adverse financial consequences and your employee will have to pay a fee to process this change.
Want to learn more?
There are advantages and disadvantages to preparing for a fixed and variable pension. More information about this can be found on the employee page.