Nestlé will not transfer its Dutch pension fund into a Belgian cross-border vehicle, following the refusal of its workers’ council (OR) to approve the employer’s plan.
In its annual report, the Swiss food company’s Belgian fund Nestlé Europees Pensioenfonds (NEPF) indicated that governance and the structure of the Belgian vehicle, anorganisation for financing pensions (OFP), played a role in the rejection. It said that it would focus on both issues before it would resume its cross-border activities.
However, the annual report of Nestlé’s Dutch pension fund, Alliance, did not shed any light on the objections of its OR. The company declined to provide further details. The annual reports made clear that, with a funding of 113.8% at June-end, Alliance was financially in a better shape than its Belgian sister scheme.
The latter’s coverage was 109% at the end of 2014, but is drawn from a discount rate of no less than 5%. The Dutch ultimate forward rate was last month lowered from 4.2% to 3.3% by regulator De Nederlandsche Bank, which triggered a decline in coverage ratios.
