ABP Pension Switch on 1 January 2027: What Expats in Education and Government Must Check Now

THE HAGUE – October 3, 2026 | The Dutch Daily

ABP pension 2027: on 1 January 2027, ABP, the pension fund for government and education, moves all of its members to the new Dutch pension rules. De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) approved the switch on 10 July 2026. ABP represents about 3.2 million people, including thousands of international PhD candidates, researchers, lecturers, teachers and civil servants. Every member receives a provisional overview of their new pension by 30 November 2026. For internationals, two rules matter most: if you stop building pension before 31 December 2026, you can miss out on compensation, and your partner’s cover ends three months after you leave your job.

1. What happens on 1 January 2027

The Future Pensions Act (Wet toekomst pensioenen, Wtp) took effect on 1 July 2023 and requires every Dutch pension fund to adopt the new system by 1 January 2028. ABP chose 1 January 2027. On that date, ABP converts each member’s existing entitlement into a personal pension pot. The size of your pot depends on the fund’s funding ratio (dekkingsgraad) on 31 December 2026: the higher the ratio, the more ABP has to divide. At the end of May 2026 the ratio was 126.6%.

Under the new rules, your contributions and your employer’s go into your own pot, and the pot grows or shrinks with investment returns. Part of the money goes into a shared solidarity reserve (solidariteitsreserve) that cushions bad years. ABP says this reserve will hold 4.5% of the distributable assets at a 110% funding ratio, 9% at 120% and 10% above 125%.

What does not change: your state pension (AOW), the fact that you keep building pension through your job, and the split of contributions between you and your employer.

2. Are you an ABP member? (Most universities are)

ABP is the pension fund for government and education. If you work, or have worked, at a Dutch university, a university of applied sciences, a public school, a ministry, a municipality, a province, the police or the armed forces, you most likely built up pension with ABP. Universities such as Leiden and Twente tell their staff explicitly that they are ABP members.

How to check: look for “ABP” or “pensioenpremie ABP” on your payslip, or log in to mijnpensioenoverzicht.nl with DigiD. That site lists every Dutch pension fund you have ever paid into. Do you have no DigiD yet? See our first 30 days checklist.

3. Your provisional overview: what to check

ABP is sending every member a provisional overview (voorlopig overzicht) in phases. Everyone should have one by 30 November 2026. It shows your current pension next to an estimate of your new pension, including any compensation. These are estimates. The final figures follow in 2027, once the 31 December 2026 funding ratio is known.

When the letter arrives, check:

• Your personal details: date of birth, address and partner. A wrong date of birth changes your compensation percentage.
• Your pension base and part-time percentage for 2026: compensation is calculated on both.
• Your employment periods: are all your Dutch jobs with ABP listed?
• Your partner: is your partner listed correctly? If you live together without being married or in a registered partnership, check in MijnABP whether ABP knows about your partner.
• Compensation and supplement: if you are between 35 and 68, does an amount appear?

If something looks wrong, contact ABP through MijnABP as soon as possible.

Free: ABP Pension Letter Checklist 2027 (PDF)

A two-page checklist to go through your provisional overview line by line, plus what to do if you leave your job or the Netherlands. We will also email you once when ABP’s final overview is due in 2027.

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4. Compensation for ages 40–68, and why leaving in 2026 matters

The move to flat-rate contributions hurts members in mid-career most. To make up for it, ABP compensates members who are building pension on 31 December 2026 and are aged 40 to 68 on 1 January 2027. The percentage starts at 6% at age 40, peaks at 39% for ages 49 to 51 and drops to 0% at 68.

The formula is: pension base × part-time percentage × measurement value × age percentage. ABP gives this example: a 42-year-old working full time with a pension base of €35,800 receives €35,800 × 100% × 100% × 19% = €6,802 of extra pension capital. If the funding ratio is 107% or higher, compensation is paid in full in one go. Below that, it is spread over time.

Members aged 35 to 44 also receive a separate supplement of 1% to 12%, depending on age, if the funding ratio is above 105%.

Why this matters for internationals: many expats in academia work on fixed-term contracts. According to ABP’s rules:

• If your contract ends before 31 December 2026 and you are no longer building pension with ABP on that date, you receive no compensation.
• If you reduce your hours in 2026, your compensation falls proportionally. Working 60% instead of 100% means 40% less compensation.
• If you take early retirement before 1 January 2027, you receive no compensation.

Are you 40 or older and is your contract ending in late 2026? Talk to your employer and HR now. Because compensation depends on still building pension with ABP on 31 December 2026, the date your contract ends can make a difference of thousands of euros. ABP has a calculation tool on its website.

5. Partner pension: the 3-month rule

This is the change internationals most often miss. From 2027, the partner pension paid if you die before retirement is no longer built up. It becomes risk cover: 41% of your pensionable salary (43% for military personnel), regardless of how long you have worked.

• While you are building pension through your job, your partner is fully covered from day one.
• If you leave your job, cover continues for 3 months. After that it stops by default.
• You can choose to continue the cover after leaving. The premium comes out of your own pension pot, so your future pension becomes lower.
• Cover continues automatically if you receive unemployment benefit (WW), sickness benefit or disability benefit.
• Partner pension built up before 1 January 2027 stays, even if you leave your job.

For an international who finishes a contract and leaves the country, this means your partner’s protection under the new scheme ends three months later, unless you choose to continue it. Make this decision before you leave, not after.

6. Leaving the Netherlands or already abroad?

Your ABP pension stays yours when you leave the Netherlands. It moves to the new rules like everyone else’s, as a dormant pension (slapersrecht). But:

• Give ABP your foreign address. Once you deregister from your Dutch municipality, ABP no longer receives your address automatically. Without it, your provisional and final overviews may not reach you.
• Keep access to MijnABP. Arrange your DigiD before you leave if you can; requesting it from abroad takes longer.
• Decide on partner cover before your last working day (see section 5).
• Check mijnpensioenoverzicht.nl for any other Dutch funds you joined, for example from a job outside education.

Moving away? Our leaving the Netherlands checklist covers every step, and our M form guide explains the tax return for the year you leave.

7. Retirees: what happens to payments

Pensions already being paid also move to the new rules, and payments continue. ABP pays in stages: January 2027 is paid at the old amount. February is the first payment under the new rules, including any difference for January. March is the first regular new monthly amount. Under the new rules, your pension can be adjusted once a year, and ABP says it has measures in place to limit cuts.

8. What about other pension funds?

ABP is not the first. The healthcare fund PFZW, the metalworking fund PMT and the construction fund bpfBOUW have already switched. PMT, for example, raised pension payments by 8.3% when it moved on 1 January 2026. All funds must be on the new rules by 1 January 2028. If you work in another sector, check your own fund’s website for its date.

9. Key takeaways

• ABP moves to the new pension rules on 1 January 2027, and everyone gets a provisional overview by 30 November 2026.
• Check your date of birth, part-time percentage, employment periods and partner on that overview.
• Ages 40–68: compensation only if you are still building pension with ABP on 31 December 2026.
• Partner cover ends 3 months after you leave your job, unless you choose to continue it.
• Living abroad? Give ABP your foreign address and keep DigiD access.

10. FAQ

Do I have to do anything for the ABP switch?

No action is required for the switch itself. You should check your provisional overview and keep your details up to date in MijnABP.

Can I lose pension because of the switch?

ABP says the switch is designed so that members do not lose out in principle. Your new pension will move with investment returns, so it can go up or down each year.

I am 45 and my postdoc contract ends in November 2026. Do I get compensation?

Not if you are no longer building pension with ABP on 31 December 2026. Ask your employer whether a short extension or a new contract at another ABP employer is possible.

I left the Netherlands years ago. Does this affect me?

Yes. Your dormant ABP pension also moves to the new rules. Make sure ABP has your current address.

When will I know my final new pension?

ABP sends the final overview in 2027, after the 31 December 2026 funding ratio has been set.

🇳🇱 Dutch Corner

Sources

• ABP: “Groen licht voor overstap op vernieuwde pensioenregeling” (DNB approval 10 July 2026, switch 1 January 2027, funding ratio 126.6% on 31 May 2026, provisional overview by 30 November 2026, final overview in 2027).
• ABP: Tijdlijn vernieuwde pensioenstelsel (Wtp in force 1 July 2023, deadline for all funds 1 January 2028).
• ABP: Wat gebeurt er op 1 januari 2027 (division of assets, funding ratio of 31 December 2026, solidarity reserve percentages, January–March 2027 payments).
• ABP: Compensatie (ages 40–68 building pension on 31 December 2026, 6%–39% by age, 107% funding ratio for a one-off payment, 35–44 supplement, worked example €6,802, effect of reduced hours, leaving or early retirement).
• ABP: Nabestaandenpensioen bij nieuwe pensioenregeling (41% / 43% of pensionable salary, 3 months after leaving, optional continuation from your pension pot, pre-2027 partner pension stays).
• NL Times, 10 July 2026: “Dutch fund ABP wins approval to switch to new pension system” (3.2 million participants; PFZW, PMT and bpfBOUW already switched).
• Leiden University and University of Twente staff pages on ABP pension accrual and the 2027 switch.

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