Each year, you accrue a portion of the pension you will ultimately receive.

How much you accrue in a year depends on your salary in that year. Because you will also receive an AOW later, not all of your salary is used to calculate your pension. The portion of your salary not included is called the ‘franchise’ in Dutch; a more appropriate English term is ‘state pension offset’. The portion that is included (your gross salary minus the state pension offset, multiplied by your part-time percentage) is multiplied by the accrual rate. The included portion is known as your ‘pensionable earnings’ (or ‘pensioengrondslag’ in Dutch). The result of the above equation equals the amount of pension you accrue in a year.

Example:

• You earn € 42,000.
• The state pension offset is € 22,093.
• Your part-time percentage is 80 %.

Your pensionable earnings would then be € 15,925.60; i.e. (€ 42,000 - € 22,093) x 0.80.

The accrual rate for 2024 is 1.738 %. This percentage can vary from year to year.

In 2024, then, you accrue 1.738 % of € 15,925.60, which is equal to € 276.79.

If your salary is increased the following year, you will also accrue more pension. Together, all the annual portions you accrue make up your final pension.

Note that these amounts only apply if you choose to start your pension on your 67th birthday. If you start your pension earlier, your pension will be lower.

Note also that a new pension scheme is going to be introduced. In the new scheme, you accrue pension differently.