You have been chosen as a member of the works council by your co-workers. They trust you and they trust your expertise. You are aware of the fact that this is a big responsibility. If your employer or their pension adviser communicates with you as a works council member, are you always able to follow everything? And if your employer asks for your approval for a change in the pension scheme, are you sure that you can make the right decision/s? If you have even the slightest doubt when answering these questions, you should follow our Practical Pension Course for Works Council Members, for your own benefit and that of your co-workers.

Following the major changes that were made to pension schemes in 2014 and 2015, it would seem that the pension world has calmed down somewhat. Does this mean that there are no more areas of concern for the works council and HR? Not at all, there are still plenty of points for consideration. Pension schemes are renewed periodically and the works council usually has to approve these. In addition, the general pension fund (APF) was recently introduced and the pension age is to be raised in 2018. In other words, there are still plenty of changes. We therefore believe that it is important to have at least two works council members with good basic knowledge of pensions.

Through a one-day practical course Bridge helps you to gain an insight into the pension market. The works council has a crucial role to play when it comes to changes to and termination of a pension scheme. We therefore focus heavily on the works council’s right of consent in regard to changes to a pension scheme.

The course consists of two half-days and it runs every two months in Utrecht, Rotterdam and Amsterdam. If there is a lot of interest, this course can be given in multiple locations and/or on multiple dates. Your instructors for this course are:

Pieter van Egmond CFP – partner Bridge

Frank Burger CFP – partner Bridge

Both have many years of experience of giving pension advice to works councils and companies. They follow the existing legislation very closely and they know where to find the pitfalls and traps in ‘pension land’.