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• If you’re employed by Unilever on 1 January 2027, you’ll start accruing personal pension capital under the new Forward scheme from that date.
   
• The pension you’ve accrued with Forward before 1 January 2027 will also be transferred to the new scheme (including accrued partner pension). In Dutch, this is called ‘invaren’.
   
• On 1 January 2027, all accrued pension entitlements in Forward 1.0 (including accrued partner pension) will be converted into a single monetary amount, which is your personal pension capital.
   
• After converting to personal pension capitals, the required reserves will be filled. After that, a surplus remains. That is the current ‘buffer’. A part of this buffer will be distributed among the pension capitals of all participants according to set rules. (You can read below what happens to the remainder.)
   
• Are you employed by Unilever on 1 January 2027?
  Then you will receive – in addition to the initial amount from the buffer that every participant gets – a second amount. This is compensation for the discontinuation of the current accrual system (the so-called “average contribution system”). This system is being phased out because it no longer functions well in today’s labour market: older employees benefit from it, while younger employees are disadvantaged. In effect, younger employees are currently helping to fund part of the pensions of older employees, without being able to benefit from the same advantage under the new rules in the future. The additional amount ensures that this “future loss” is compensated and that the transition to the new scheme is balanced for all age groups.

Every employee will receive compensation. The amount depends not only on your age and salary, but also on factors such as the size of the buffer on 1 January 2027, and the choices made jointly by Unilever and the labour unions.

• Are you no longer employed on 1 January 2027?
  For example, if you start a new job or retire. In that case, you will no longer accrue pension with Unilever, which means compensation is not applicable. Of course, you will still get a share in the distribution of (the first part of) the buffer.

More information about the above points can be found in the summary of the transition plan. The Transition Plan (only in Dutch) itself provides more detailed information, including how the pensions that have already started for retirees are protected.

Pension with Progress
If you were employed by Unilever before 1 April 2015, you also accrued pension with Progress. The rules for the Progress pension will not change. One advantage of this is that this part of the Unilever Pension cannot be reduced in a possible future situation of bad financial circumstances. Such agreements are no longer possible under the new pension scheme (and do not apply to either the old or the new scheme of Forward).

 

• You will have a personal pension capital. You will see exactly how much you and Unilever contribute monthly and what the investment returns are.
  Read more
• There are no more guarantees about your future pension amount. However, the amount of the premium to be paid is fixed.
  Read more
   
• The total premium for you pension will be (maximum) 33.4% of your pension base.
  Read more
   
• Prefer to pay a lower premium? That will be possible with a salary above €80,000.
  Read more
   
• Your pension capital will fluctuate more and earlier with the economy and investment results. As a result, your pension capital may increase earlier, but it can also decrease earlier.
  Read more
   
• Rules for partner and orphan pensions after death will be simplified (and our Anw insurance will be discontinued).
  Read more

 

• As long as you’re employed by Unilever Netherlands, you’re obliged to participate in the Forward pension scheme. The maximum pensionable salary is €137,800 (in 2026).
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• Unilever’s contribution to your pension remains high; your own contribution is relatively small.
  Read more
   
• You share risks (e.g., investment, longevity) and returns on investments with your (former) colleagues.
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  You cannot make personal investment choices. However, you can periodically indicate your risk preference in a survey.
  Read more
   
• You’ll receive pension for life—even if you live very long.
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• Upon retirement, you’ll have several options to tailor your pension to your needs. For example, you can choose to start your pension earlier than your official retirement age.
  Read more
   
• Leaving service? You can either leave your pension with us or transfer it to a new pension provider. 
  Read more
   
• If you pass away while still employed, your partner receives a life-long partner pension and your children a temporary orphan pension (until a certain age).
  (See above for what does change in both pensions.)
  Read more
   
• Do you become incapacitated for work?

  • Then you will continue to accrue pension capital for the portion you are disabled, without any further contributions from you.
  • Is your salary higher than approximately €75,000? Then, in addition to the WIA benefit from the government, you will receive a disability pension from Forward of up to 70% of your salary above the WIA threshold.

  Read more
   

From the date you officially leave, you’ll no longer accrue pension with Forward. Your pension remains with us and will be transitioned to the new scheme, where it will be converted to personal pension capital. Unless you become a participant of a new pension provider and you transfer your pension.

No compensation
The law states that you are only entitled to compensation from the pension fund where you are an active participant at the time of the transition to a new pension scheme.
If you leave employment before 1 January 2027 (the transition date for Forward), you will not be eligible for compensation from Forward. This is because your active participation in the scheme will have ended, and therefore there is no longer any “missed future accrual.” Of course, you will still share in the distribution of the buffer.

Starting a new job?
You may receive compensation at your new pension fund: the number of years you’ve been employed does not affect the amount of compensation (but your age and the amount of your salary do!).

Please note: To be eligible for compensation, you must be a participant in the new pension fund at the moment it transitions to a new scheme (which is not always on 1 January 2027!). Additionally, the new fund must have sufficient financial resources to provide compensation. Make sure to inquire about this before signing a new employment contract!

Working for TMICC?
If you work for the ice cream division, your Unilever employment ends at the moment of the external separation. You’ll continue to participate fully in the (new) Forward pension scheme for as long as you stay in service of TMICC.