If Dutch law applies to you, a divorce (or a termination of a registered partnership) has consequences for your pension. This is because pension is considered as community property. This means the pension has to be divided. You can have the pension fund take care of paying your ex-partner. Please inform the pension fund if you'd like us to do this.
Dutch law stipulates that your ex-partner will receive half of the old-age pension which you accrued during the marriage or registered partnership, unless you've arranged a prenuptial agreement. If your ex-partner passes away, you will receive the full pension again. If you pass away, the old-age pension will stop, for both you and your ex-partner.
You and your partner can agree to a different division, for example 60% - 40%. You can also apply for a conversion. This means that the old-age pension and/or the entitlements to a special partner's pension accrued by you during your marriage or registered partnership are converted into an independent old-age pension for you and an independent old-age pension for your ex-partner. This means that the death of either of you has no consequences for the pension of the other. Both parties and the pension fund should be involved in this process. Fees may be charged.
Would you like Pensioenfonds Ernst & Young in liquidatie to arrange the payment to your ex-partner? Make sure you inform the pension fund within two years after your divorce (or termination of your registered partnership). You can do this by sending us the form 'Mededeling scheiding in verband met verdeling ouderdomspensioen' (Notification of divorce in relation to the old age pension distribution) and adding a copy of the divorce agreement. If you do not inform the pension fund of your divorce, your ex-partner is of course still entitled to part of the old-age pension. In this case you will have to arrange the payment yourself when you retire.
Don't forget to cancel your ex-partner's registration with the pension fund! Otherwise he or she will still be entitled to a partner's pension at the expense of a possible new partner.