Dutch life insurers acquire €7bn in pension fund liabilities in two years

Written by Michael Griffiths

16/12/2025

Dutch life insurers have taken over €7bn in pension liabilities through buy-outs in the past two years, new figures from De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) have shown.

The DNB suggested that current market conditions, including relatively high interest rates, have made such transactions favourable for insurers.

In recent years, a group of life insurers from the Netherlands which includes Achmea, ASR, Athora, and Nationale Nederlanden have acquired 15 different pension funds through buy-outs.

As a result, the aggregate value of these insurers’ pension schemes has increased by €7bn and reached €230bn in the last two years, taking their share to 15% of the total pension provisions of €1.57trn, combining both insurers and pension funds.

“Favourable market conditions further support buy-outs,” the DNB said. “High funding ratios, for example, enable pension funds to insure indexation, allowing pension benefits to keep pace with inflation, consistent with current practices.

“For insurers, buy-outs present new growth opportunities and allow them to operate more cost-effectively.”

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