Financial stress: can you cope with it? Many young people can’t. Surveys reveal that more than 40% of all millennials are worried about their present and future financial situation. More than half of them have sleepless nights over financial issues. It's bad for their health and making them less productive. And yet, 80% of young workers don’t set aside money for future or unexpected expenses. Why does the government want to motivate you to put more money into your pension savings?

Whether you like it or not, you are already putting money into a pension fund. That fund will start paying you a pension when you reach the age of 67, 68, or perhaps over 70. The money isn’t in your bank account yet, although your salary slip says you are paying for your pension every month. If you work for ING on a full-time employment contract, about one full day's earnings go into your pension every week. This is what makes pension a wonderful product: you save for your retirement in a relatively inexpensive manner.

1.3 trillion euros in total
The total amount of money saved in Dutch pension funds currently amounts to no less than 1,300 billion euros. That's enough to balance the Dutch budget for five full years. Or to give all 17.5 million inhabitants of the Netherlands a cheque worth 75,000 euros. But that’s not going to happen – the money is meant for future purposes and part of it has been reserved for you. Will it be enough? That's for you to decide.

Challenges
Interest rates are currently low and the Dutch population is ageing. Moreover, there's a growing number of self-employed workers who don’t build up any pension. As a result, the number of pensioners is growing in comparison with the number of people paying pension contributions. We also live longer. These are challenges we cannot ignore and, hence, a new pension system is being designed.

"Your future starts today"

Create a financial buffer
All Dutch citizens receive a base pension from the Dutch state, the AOW, from the day they reach their pensionable age. Those who are employed build up pension in their employer's pension plan as well. In 2018, ING will pay the pension fund 33.85% of the total pension contribution. As an employee, you pay 6% of the contribution. Your CDC pension plan not only provides you with old age pension, but also with a pension for your partner and a pension should you become occupationally disabled. When you approach your pensionable age, you’ll be given several options regarding your pension, including early retirement or part-time pension. These options can cost you money. It’s up to you to create extra financial leeway for your retirement. You could, for example, start putting a monthly amount into your savings account or making some investments, to ensure you have the additional funds you'll need to live comfortably when you retire.

Monitor your pension
Are you one of those millennials who worry about their financial future? ING CDC Pensioenfonds helps you get a grip on your pension situation by giving you insight online. Use your DigiD to log in to the Pension Planner and find out whether your pension is on track and how any extra money you set aside will affect your pension result. You can monitor this annually and make any adjustments you might need in order to secure a comfortable retirement.

This article provides an outline of trends in society as well as some general information. Would you like to read stories of employees in other age groups? Pick your choice at the upper right side of the screen.