Pension reform in the Netherlands: lessons from abroad

The Dutch second pillar is at the start of a major reform operation, in which existing pension contracts, which are dominated by DB-like systems are transformed into new contracts that focus on the accumulation of capital. This article looks at experiences in other countries that could help the Dutch reform effort. One may think that pensions are pre-eminently a national affair, so we cannot learn too much from each other, but we did conclude that there are indeed lessons to be learned. We present these lessons below and group them into two main categories: (1) lessons regarding the reform process and (2) lessons regarding pension design.