Due to new legislation in the Netherlands, everyone will receive a new pension. Your adjusted pension scheme is expected to take effect on 1 January 2027. What does this mean for you: what will change and what will remain the same? We have listed the key points for you below.
We will only be able to explain what the change means for you personally towards the end of 2026.
In November 2026, you will receive a provisional calculation, followed by a final calculation in spring 2027.
What the new rules are for you as a partner or ex-partner depends on:
Select your situation below:
I am receiving a partner’s pension. This is what stays the same for you if you are currently receiving a partner’s pension because your partner or ex-partner has died.
This partner’s pension will become a variable pension. Read more about this under ‘What changes’.
This is what will change for you from 1 January 2027 if you are receiving a partner’s pension because your partner or ex-partner has died.
You will soon receive benefits from SSPF's Collective Variable Pension (CVP).
We will continue to invest your capital with the aim of increasing your pension in the long term. However, the value of the investments may also fall. Every year, your benefit is adjusted to the results achieved in the CVP. That result consists of, among other things, the result on investments and interest rates. Other factors also play a role. The results achieved are spread. By doing this, we avoid large fluctuations in the amount of your pension benefit.
Good to know: the amount of the benefit you receive now will be the starting point for the variable benefit under the new scheme. In July 2027, the buffers will be distributed on a one-off basis, and your monthly benefit will therefore be increased. From 2028 onwards, your benefit will be adjusted once a year, in July, based on the CVP results achieved (for example, the results achieved in 2027 will be processed in July 2028).
If you have a variable pension, we will continue to invest for you after you retire. You can benefit from positive investment results. But if investments fall, you will also be affected. So, your benefit amount is not fixed. We spread the results to prevent large fluctuations in your benefit as much as possible. We also have a risk-sharing reserve, which protects your benefit amount even more. This reserve is intended to prevent pensions from being unexpectedly reduced in the first 15 years after the transition to the new scheme.
How does the risk-sharing reserve work?
An amount will be set aside as a risk-sharing reserve. We will use this reserve in the unexpected event that your benefits need to be reduced. Thanks to this reserve, the probability of your pension decreasing in value in the first 15 years after the transition is less than 5%.
Why is this important?
Under the new scheme, pensions will fluctuate in line with investment results, amongst other things. This can be positive or negative. The risk-sharing reserve ensures that retirees have extra security and do not face large reductions in the short term.
In other words: the risk-sharing reserve is a safety net that will help keep pensions stable in the early years of the new scheme.
Because there are different legal rules, SSPF needs to maintain fewer buffers. Therefore, at the transition to the new scheme, the buffer will be distributed once among all participants. Exactly how much this is, we can only say after the transition to the new scheme. You will of course receive more information about this then.
What are buffers?
Buffers are mandatory reserves that SSPF was legally required to maintain in the old scheme. At the transition to the new pension, these buffers will be largely released. SSPF does not need to maintain such large buffers in the new scheme.
How are the buffers distributed?
The distribution happens in three steps:
I am receiving part of my ex-partner’s pension. You are divorced and are receiving part of the Shell pension of your retired ex-partner (settlement).
If your ex-partner dies, this shared pension payment will cease. After your ex-partner’s death, you will receive a partner’s pension unless you made different arrangements about this at the time of your divorce.
The pension you receive will become a variable pension. In the spring of 2027, your ex-partner may choose to convert this variable pension into a fixed pension with an insurance company. Read more about this under ‘What changes’.
Your ex-partner will choose between a variable pension with SSPF or a fixed pension with an insurance company.
In spring 2027, your ex-partner will choose between a fixed or a variable benefit for the retirement pension. This choice also applies to your share of the pension. As soon as your ex-partner has made a choice, you will also receive a notification.
Does your ex-partner choose a variable pension? You will receive benefits from SSPF's Collective Variable Pension (CVP).
We will continue to invest your pension with the aim of increasing your benefit in the future. Every year, your benefit is adjusted to the results achieved. That result consists of, among other things, the result on investments and interest rates. But the development of life expectancy also plays a role. The results achieved are spread. In this way, we prevent large fluctuations in the amount of your pension benefit.
Good to know: the amount of the benefit you receive now will be the starting point for the variable benefit under the new scheme. In July 2027, the buffer will be distributed once among all participants, which will increase your benefit. From 2028 onwards, your benefit will be adjusted once a year, in July, based on the CVP results achieved (for example, the results achieved in 2027 will be processed in July 2028).
Does your ex-partner choose a fixed pension? Then your ex-partner will purchase a fixed benefit from an insurance company.
The pension capital available to you at that time, plus the one-off, permanent increase from the buffer, will then be transferred to the insurance company of your ex-partner’s choice. A fixed benefit generally remains the same in amount.
Are you also entitled to a special partner’s pension if your ex-partner dies? The choice between a fixed or variable pension applies to you only in respect of the shared retirement pension, not to the special partner’s pension that you receive if your ex-partner dies. This will remain with SSPF. In other words: only the retirement pension of which you currently receive a share will then be transferred to the insurance company.
If you have a variable pension, we will continue to invest for you after retirement. You can benefit from positive investment results. But if investments fall, you will also be affected. So, your benefit amount is not fixed.
We have a risk-sharing reserve, which protects your benefit amount even more. This reserve is intended to prevent pensions from being unexpectedly reduced in the first 15 years after the transition to the new scheme.
How does the risk-sharing reserve work?
With the transition to the new scheme, existing buffers will be released. Most of the money in them will be shared among all the participants. So, you will receive a one-off permanent increase in your benefit from 1 July 2027. An amount will be set aside as a risk-sharing reserve. We will use this reserve in the unexpected event that your benefits need to be reduced. Thanks to this reserve, the probability of your pension decreasing in value in the first 15 years after the transition is less than 5%.
Why is this important?
Under the new scheme, pensions will fluctuate in line with investment results, amongst other things. This can be positive or negative. The risk-sharing reserve ensures that retirees have extra security and do not face large reductions in the short term.
In other words: the risk-sharing reserve is a safety net that will help keep pensions stable in the early years after the transition to the new scheme.
Because there are different legal rules, SSPF needs to maintain fewer buffers. Therefore, at the transition to the new scheme, the buffer will be distributed once among all participants. Exactly how much this is, we can only say after the transition to the new scheme. You will of course receive more information about this then.
What are buffers?
Buffers are mandatory reserves that SSPF was legally required to maintain in the old scheme. At the transition to the new pension, these buffers will be largely released. SSPF does not need to maintain such large buffers in the new scheme.
How are the buffers distributed?
The distribution happens in three steps:
I am not yet receiving a partner’s pension from my ex-partner. You are divorced and will receive a special partner’s pension should your ex-partner die.
The special partner’s pension set aside for you following the divorce will be converted into a personal pension pot under the new scheme. You are still entitled to the same percentage of the pension that was agreed at the time of the divorce. However, this will become a variable pension. Read more about this under ‘What changes’.
Just like now, we will also invest your pension in the new scheme. However, how investing for your pension works will change. Currently, we invest the same way for everyone. In the future, we will invest more individually. Read more about this under ‘What changes’.
This is what changes for you from 1 January 2027.
The special partner’s pension set aside for you will be converted into a personal pension pot. This is invested for you. If the investments perform well, your capital will increase. If the investments perform less well, your capital may also decrease. The monthly amount you will receive if your ex-partner dies is therefore not fixed in advance.
We can invest the capital based on one of the following 3 profiles: average risk, more risk or less risk. The choice your ex-partner makes also applies to the special partner’s pension set aside for you.
We will continue to invest the pension with the aim of increasing your pension in the long term. However, the value of the investments may also fall. Every year, your benefit is adjusted to the results achieved in the CVP. That result consists of, among other things, the result on investments and interest rates. Other factors also play a role. The results achieved are spread. In this way, we prevent large fluctuations in the amount of your benefit.
Because there are different legal rules, SSPF needs to maintain fewer buffers. Therefore, at the transition to the new scheme, the buffer will be distributed once among all participants. We will add your share of the buffer to your pension pot after the transition. Exactly how much this is, we can only say after the transition to the new scheme. You will of course receive more information about this then.
What are buffers?
Buffers are mandatory reserves that SSPF was legally required to maintain in the old scheme. At the transition to the new pension, these buffers will be largely released. SSPF does not need to maintain such large buffers in the new scheme.
How are the buffers distributed?
The distribution happens in three steps:
I am not yet receiving a share of my ex-partner’s pension. If you are divorced, you will receive a share of the pension when your ex-partner retires (settlement) and you may also be entitled to a special partner’s pension should your ex-partner die.
This is what changes for you from 1 January 2027.
To keep you informed, it is important that you can be reached. Please check whether your email address and phone number are still correct on my-Shellpension.
This information has been prepared with due care and based on our current knowledge. Despite this care and attention, the content may be incomplete, may contain inaccuracies, or may become outdated at any time as a result of new insights or developments. No rights can therefore be derived from this information. The definitive regulations and other binding documents will only become available at a later stage. The closer we get to the transition to the new scheme, the more will be confirmed.
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