Supplements.

Accrued pension rights are often adjusted to the price developments of certain goods or the development of wages in a company or industry. Adjusting pensions to these developments is referred to as granting supplements or indexation. The purpose of granting supplements is to maintain the same level of purchasing power as a (partial) compensation for inflation. Due to inflation, for example, in 10 years much less can be bought for €100, than for the same €100 now. Supplementation aims to (partially) maintain the same purchasing power. 


Not all pension schemes have a supplementation clause. Check out your pension scheme rules to find out if supplementation is granted. This is indicated in a separate article: “Right to supplements”. The granting of supplements is not an automatic right. It will often only be applied if the employer’s resources (“the pot of money”) allows it. Read in your pension scheme rules on what basis supplements may be granted.