Evelyn, 54 year old administrative assistant
“Did you know we generally live longer? On average, we now live twenty years into our retirement. That means your money will need to go a long way if you want to stay financially independent.”
'Life after work... that’ll be in Portugal for me. I want to pursue my dream and open a Bed & Breakfast. To accomplish that, and to give me peace of mind, I’ve studied the ins and outs of my pension. I want to know what my ex-husband will pay me, how much my employer’s pension plan will pay out and when my Dutch state pension (AOW) will start paying out. So I can make my dream come true in Portugal and have enough money to enjoy my life as well!
I never used to read letters from my pension funds, but nowadays I login to the Pension Planner to find out as much as I can. I used to be clueless about investments, but now I check stock markets and interest rates. Every year, I switch to a different health care insurer and energy company. That might sound over the top, but I like having a grip on my financial situation.
Unfortunately, the Dutch state pension age is going up. I figured out what this means for me: my Dutch state pension (AOW) will probably start when I reach the age of 67 years and six months. I doubt that retiring early will be possible for me.
I never used to read letters from my pension funds, but nowadays I login to the Pension Planner to find out as much as I can.
I’m 54 years old now and as far as I know, I have four major pension moments lying ahead.
- When I turn 61: My ex-husband will retire at that time and I will start receiving half of the old age pension he accrued while we were married.
- When I turn 65: I will start getting pension benefits from Pensioenfonds ING, plus two pension funds in which I accrued small pensions.
- When I turn 67: I will start getting pension benefits from ING CDC Pensioenregeling.
- When I turn 67 + 6 months: I will start getting pension benefits from the Dutch state (AOW benefits).
I might be able to retire when I’m 65. I will check the Pension Planner to find out how early retirement will affect my pension. I never thought I’d be concerned about my finances, but working out these details is helping me enormously.’
Does Evelyn’s situation sound familiar to you? Check My Pension for a summary of pension information relevant to you.
This article is about a fictional employee of ING.