You are accruing pension benefits with a.s.r. If you have also accrued pension with your former employer or employers, you can combine your pensions and take your accrued pension with you to a.s.r. We call this a transfer of accrued benefits. Sometimes this is done automatically and sometimes you have to arrange this yourself.
If you have accrued an annual gross amount between € 2 and € 497.27 (threshold amount for 2020) with your former employer, your former pension administrator can then transfer that small pension to your new a.s.r. pension scheme without you having to do anything. This is called an automatic transfer of accrued benefits. We always process automatically transferred pensions. You cannot object to automatic transfers of accrued benefits with your former pension administrator or a.s.r.
Not all pension administrators opt for automatic transfer of accrued benefits. If you have accrued a small pension, and you are considering combining your pensions, please first check with your former pension administrator whether they already intend to automatically transfer your small pension to us. If not, you can always arrange the transfer of accrued benefits yourself. Please then contact us for a free proposal.
Ask your new pension administrator, in this case a.s.r., for a free proposal for the transfer of accrued benefits. The pension administrators of your former and current employer will both make a calculation:
Transferring accrued benefits is not always advisable. It is worthwhile transferring the accrued benefits if the pension scheme of your current employer is comparable to or better than that of your former employer. But when is that the case? That depends on your personal situation, your preferences and the various components of both pension schemes.
In any event, you should consider the following points when deciding whether to transfer accrued benefits:
Compare the type of pension scheme of your former employer with that of your new employer and see which is best suited to your situation and wishes. For example, if benefits are guaranteed under the old scheme and not under the new, it is important to then understand that the size of your pension is less certain if you invest than if you have a guaranteed benefit. You may accrue less pension if the investment return proves disappointing and more if it turns out to be positive.
Compare the choices that you can make within both pension schemes. Does the pension scheme of your new employer offer you more options that are important to you? Does the new scheme, for example, offer you the choice to accrue supplementary pension, can you choose to retire early or retire later, or do you have more extensive investment choices? Such options may make a transfer of accrued benefits worthwhile.
Changing from one pension scheme to another can adversely affect the level of the surviving dependants’ pension for your partner and/or children, if applicable. This is why you should always check to what extent the level of the surviving dependants’ pension may be affected by a transfer of accrued benefits to your new pension scheme.
How much pension you will ultimately receive is often still uncertain at the moment, which is why it is important to check how certain your pension is with your old and new pension scheme. Find out whether:
If you have one or more small pensions with various pension administrators, combining them may also help to get a better overview of your pension situation. You will then only have to deal with one pension administrator. After a transfer of accrued benefits, you only have one point of contact and you will later receive your pension only from one pension administrator. Having only one pension administrator, it is easier to adjust your pension to your personal circumstances. Convenience should not, however, be the main reason for combining pensions.
If you wish to take your pension from your former employer to your a.s.r. pension scheme, the procedure involves the following steps: Please note: the transfer of accrued benefits takes between seven and twelve months. Sometimes it takes even longer.
For this purpose, please complete the Transfer of accrued benefits information request form. You send this form to us.
We will request the transfer value of your old pension from your former pension administrator within one month.
Your former pension administrator has two months to send this calculation to a.s.r.
We send you a proposal within 2 months of receiving the information from your former pension administrator. This sets out what the transfer value of your old pension is and how much pension you will get for this in your new pension scheme.
You have 2 months to decide whether you want to combine your pensions or not. If you also want to transfer the partner's pension, your partner must then also sign the statement of approval.
Once we have received your approval, we will instruct your former pension administrator or administrators to transfer the value within ten working days. We process the deposit within fifteen days and add the value to your pension. You will then receive confirmation from us that the pensions have been combined. When you retire, you will receive a pension from a.s.r.
If you have taken up a new job since 1 January 2015 and have joined a new pension scheme, you can request a transfer of accrued benefits at any time.
If you were in the service of your current employer before 1 January 2015, you should have made the application to us within six months of taking up your new job.
If you do this at a later date or if you want a transfer of benefits accrued in employment that ended before 8 July 1994, you are dependent on the agreement of four parties for a transfer:
1. Your former employer
2. Your former pension administrator
3. Your new employer
4. Your new pension administrator (a.s.r.)
If one of them does not agree, the accrued pension will remain with your former pension administrator. On each occasion that you change jobs, you can again arrange for a transfer of accrued benefits.
Please note: In some cases, the consent of your former employer or your new employer may be required for a transfer of accrued benefits. This is because there are circumstances in which the former employer or new employer must make an additional payment. If this additional payment exceeds a statutorily defined amount, the employer may decide whether or not it wishes to agree to the transfer of accrued benefits. In that case, the transfer of accrued benefits will not take place. We will then inform you about this.
If you have worked abroad and have accrued a pension there, a transfer of accrued benefits may be possible under certain conditions. If you would like to request a proposal for an international transfer of accrued benefits, please download the Model Questionnaires for International Incoming Transfer of Accrued Benefits. Please complete this form and send it to your foreign pension administrator. The latter will complete the form and return it to you. You can then send the form to a.s.r.
We do not charge a fee for the application of a proposal, for the calculations or for the actual transfer of accrued benefits itself. Not even if you ultimately decide that you do not want to combine your pensions.
If you consult an adviser, you may be charged a consultancy fee. Ask your adviser about this.
On Mijnpensioenoverzicht.nl you will find an overview of all your pensions. You can find out where you have accrued your benefits on the website Mijnpensioenoverzicht.nl. Sign in using your DigiD.
You can find information about your a.s.r. pension scheme on your personal pension environment Mijn Pensioen. Sign in using your DigiD. This online environment of a.s.r. has information about your new pension scheme under Pension 1-2-3. Sign in using your DigiD.
Information about your previous employer's pension scheme can often be found on the website of your former pension administrator. This may be a pension fund, an Institute of Occupational Retirement Pension (IORP) or an insurance company. Go to Pension 1-2-3 in the personal environment of your former pension administrator. Most online environments of pension administrators require the use of your DigiD. Some pension administrators have their own usernames and passwords.
Whether a particular course of action is advisable in your specific circumstances is often hard to decide. If you want help making your choice, you should contact an independent adviser. Such an adviser can provide you with customized advice. Discuss with your adviser in advance what you will be charged for the advice and what exactly any additional service entails.
Please feel free to contact us at any time. We are available by telephone on business days from 8.00 to 17.30 on +31 (0)30 257 42 66. Alternatively, you can complete the contact form. We are here to help.