Income for your partner should you pass away

When you pass away and you have a partner, he or she will receive a partner’s pension from Bpf Koopvaardij. We will contact your partner and any children within two weeks of your passing. If you live abroad, we will not automatically be notified of your passing. Your surviving dependants must send us your death certificate. Once we receive it, we will contact them within two weeks.

Register your partner It is important for us to know if you have a partner. If you are married or in a registered partnership, you do not need to notify us. We will receive an automatic notification from the municipality. Do you live abroad? If so, you must register your partner with us yourself. Even if you are cohabiting unmarried in the Netherlands, you need to register your partner. You do this by submitting a copy of your cohabitation agreement or other notarial document to us. Important: register your partner before your retirement date.

Build-up and insurance Under the pension rules currently in force, the partner's pension consists of two parts. You build up the first part. The contribution you pay together with your employer will continue to increase. That's because we invest that contribution. The second part of the partner's pension is insurance. This also involves paying a premium, but we do not invest this. It works in the same way as your car insurance, for example: you receive a payout if your car is damaged, but not otherwise.

When the new pension rules come into effect, you will no longer build up a partner's pension. The entire partner's pension will then become an insurance policy. Another change is that the partner's pension will be 25 percent of the salary on which you build up your pension. So it no longer depends on the length of your employment.

Good to know: the partner's pension you have built up under the pension rules that currently apply will remain in place and will be transferred to the new pension scheme. However, it will no longer be topped up under the new pension rules.

Other situations If you are new to the sector, or if you are just starting to work and build up your pension under the new pension rules, then you only need the partner's pension insurance from Bpf Koopvaardij. If you are leaving Bpf Koopvaardij, for example because you are leaving the sector, your insurance cover for your partner's pension will continue for six months. Cover ends if you have a new employer. If you are receiving unemployment benefits, cover will continue for a maximum of two years. If these terms expire and you do not yet have a new employer, you can also pay the insurance premium for the partner's pension yourself.

Choices when you retire When you retire, you can make choices regarding the partner's pension. Namely: how much partner's pension does your partner need? If you die before your partner, how will this affect them financially? What are the costs that require two incomes? For example rent or mortgage and other fixed expenses.

According to the new pension rules, the partner's pension may not exceed 70 percent of your occupational retirement pension. The percentage you choose will affect how much occupational retirement pension you will receive. The higher the partner's pension, the lower your own pension, or vice versa. The most important thing is that you make a choice together that you and your partner are both comfortable with. If you cannot reach agreement, seek the help of a financial adviser.

Double cover Under the pension rules that currently apply, you have a built-up partner's pension and an insured partner's pension. Under the new pension rules, the partner's pension will become fully insured. Because the built-up partner's pension remains in place and is transferred to the new scheme, you can receive double cover for the partner's pension. This presents no problem. However, this could become a problem if you switch to another sector and transfer the value of your pension from Bpf Koopvaardij to another pension fund. That fund will add your built-up partner's pension to your pension capital. You will then no longer have a separate built-up partner's pension. This means that your partner may receive less partner's pension if you pass away before your retirement date. You may want to consider taking out supplementary insurance, such as life insurance. A financial adviser can help you with this decision. ←