If you work less or stop working altogether after an accident, your pension accrual may also change. This loss is less immediately visible than a lower monthly salary, but it can have major consequences later on. If someone else is liable, pension loss may form part of your personal injury claim. Whether a real shortfall arises depends on your pension scheme and on how things would have developed with and without the accident.
Nederlands: Lees dit artikel in het Nederlands: Pensioenschade na een ongeval en vergoeding van gemiste pensioenopbouw
Türkçe: Bu makaleyi Türkçe okuyun: Kazadan sonra emeklilik zararı ve kaçırılan emeklilik birikiminin tazmini
Written by Onur Arslan, attorney at Arslan Advocaten. Registered in the Netherlands Bar’s register of areas of practice for employment law and personal injury. Last updated: 17 September 2026.
A fixed percentage added to the loss of income is usually not a reliable calculation. A premium waiver in the event of incapacity for work, part-time work, a different employer and changes to the scheme can all alter the picture. In this article, you can read which information is needed and why pension loss must be investigated before a final settlement.
In brief
- Pension loss is the difference between the pension you would have accrued without the accident and what remains now.
- That is not the same as the missed premium: the premium is a means of funding, not a pension entitlement.
- Many schemes provide for premium-free continuation of accrual in the event of incapacity for work; ask the pension provider in writing whether this applies, from when and for what portion.
- Gather the pension scheme rules, your Uniform Pension Statements (UPOs) and your overview from Mijnpensioenoverzicht; without those documents, no reliable calculation is possible.
- Avoid double counting with loss of income and put this item on the checklist before any full and final discharge.
What is pension loss in a personal injury case
Pension loss is the disadvantage that arises because the accident leaves your pension position worse than it would plausibly have been without the accident. This may result, for example, from lower accrual, a lower pensionable salary or the end of your participation in the scheme. The precise form depends on the scheme.
The loss is not the same as every missed pension premium. A premium is part of the funding and does not always indicate directly how much retirement pension is lost. Some schemes continue accrual in part when you are unfit for work. Other circumstances may, on the contrary, cause additional loss.
For a claim, the difference between two situations must be investigated: what pension position would probably have arisen without the accident, and what position exists now? Both scenarios require concrete information and clearly stated assumptions. Looking only at your current lower income is not sufficient.
First establish which pension scheme you have
Employees may participate in various types of schemes through a pension fund, an insurer or a premium pension institution. Arrangements may also change over time. Among other things, the scheme determines which pensionable basis is used, which contributions apply and what happens in the event of incapacity for work.
Request the pension scheme rules and relevant personal statements. A general brochure can be useful, but it does not always contain all the conditions that apply to your situation. Also note from when you have been a member and whether there have been transitional arrangements or changes.
If you move to a different employer, it is important to look at the old and new schemes separately. A lower salary may affect accrual, but differences between schemes may also be relevant. Not every difference is caused by the accident; that link must be explained.
Gathering UPOs and pension statements
The Uniform Pension Statement (UPO) provides information on your accrued and expected pension within the scheme concerned. Preferably gather statements from both before and after the accident. This shows which data and expectations have changed. Check whether the statements use the same starting points.
Through Mijnpensioenoverzicht, the Dutch online overview of pension entitlements, you can obtain an overview of your pension rights. It is a useful starting point, but not automatically a calculation of your personal injury loss. The amounts and scenarios shown must be understood in the context of the specific scheme and your employment situation.
Also keep letters about incapacity for work, premium waivers, termination of participation and transfers of value. It is precisely these decisions that may explain why future accrual follows a different course. An actuary can only make a careful comparison once this information is complete.
Premium waiver in the event of incapacity for work
A pension scheme may provide for accrual to continue without you having to keep paying the full premium yourself. The conditions and scope vary. It is therefore wrong to assume that every employee who is unfit for work automatically loses all pension accrual or, conversely, is always fully protected.
Ask the pension provider in writing whether a premium waiver applies, from which date and for what portion. Check which pensionable basis is used and which changes you must report. A benefit decision from UWV, the Dutch employee insurance agency, may be relevant, but the pension scheme has its own conditions and administration.
Even where a premium waiver has been granted, there may still be a difference compared with the scenario without the accident. Perhaps your salary would have increased or you would have started working more hours. Such expectations must be substantiated in concrete terms. Conversely, continued accrual may wholly or partly eliminate an alleged shortfall.
Working fewer hours and a lower salary
A partial return to work may affect your pensionable basis. How this works through depends on the scheme, the part-time factor and any supplement in the event of incapacity for work. The number of hours worked alone is not enough to calculate the loss.
Gather payslips and employment arrangements for each period. Was the reduction temporary or permanent? Which income is pensionable? Some allowances or payments may be treated differently from the fixed salary. The scheme should state which components count towards accrual.
Also make clear what would plausibly have happened without the accident. If you already intended to work less before the incident, that belongs in the comparison. A claim must describe a realistic difference, and not automatically assume the maximum conceivable accrual over the rest of your career.
A different position or employer after the accident
If you take on different work because of your limitations, your income and your pension scheme may change at the same time. A comparison must keep these two aspects apart. The lower salary may be a head of loss of income; the pension difference also requires its own assessment.
Keep documents about the reason for the move and the options available with your former employer. An assessment by an occupational expert can help demonstrate why the change was necessary. If the move also took place for other reasons, these must be taken into account honestly.
A transfer of value is not automatic proof of a loss or a gain. The consequences depend on the schemes and conditions involved. If necessary, have this assessed by a pension expert. A simple comparison of two annual statement amounts can be misleading when the underlying assumptions differ.
The situation of self-employed people
A self-employed person does not necessarily have an employer’s pension. There may be private provisions, such as an annuity or another demonstrable form of saving for later life. The legal assessment depends on the specific arrangements and the financial situation. Not every lower savings balance automatically constitutes separate pension loss.
Show which structural contributions you made before the accident and what changed afterwards. Check whether the amount has already been included in the calculation of the net loss of income. Otherwise, the same disadvantage may be claimed twice: once as lost income and again as missed contributions.
For entrepreneurs, retirement provision may also be linked to business assets. This calls for extra care, because changes in value and accident-related earning capacity are not the same thing. A financial expert can help define the relevant heads of damage and test the assumptions.
Keeping the state pension (AOW) and supplementary pension apart
The AOW, the Dutch state pension, and supplementary pensions have different bases. A reduction in salary does not automatically mean a proportionate reduction in AOW accrual. The applicable insurance position and circumstances must be examined separately. Do not therefore use a single percentage for all income after retirement.
A supplementary pension through your employer or your own provision depends on other factors. It is precisely there that salary, participation and premium waivers may play a role. A good overview of the loss makes clear which scheme is meant and which disadvantage is specifically being claimed.
Partner’s pension or other cover may also raise questions. Not every change leads to the same type of compensable loss. Have the relevant risks and rights assessed per scheme instead of adding up all possible forms of pension without explanation.
Future career and salary development
For a calculation without the accident, an estimate must be made of how your career would probably have developed. Concrete promotion arrangements, completed training or a demonstrable career path may be relevant. A general expectation that everyone will earn a lot more each year is not sufficient.
The assessment must also take uncertainties into account. Perhaps you would have changed employer, started working fewer hours or stopped earlier. Such assumptions should be visible, so that the parties can discuss how plausible they are. A calculation does not become reliable just because it contains many decimal places.
For young victims, the time horizon is long and the uncertainty is often greater. That calls for careful scenarios, not for leaving out future loss altogether. The aim is a reasonable estimate with substantiated starting points that reflects your personal prospects before the accident.
Changes to the pension system
Pension schemes may change, including as a result of the transition to new pension arrangements. For your claim, what matters is which scheme applies in which period and how your rights are treated. The outcome cannot be based on old scheme rules if other arrangements have since become relevant.
Ask the pension provider what information is available about the transition and your personal position. A general newsletter does not always answer the calculation question. The expert must state clearly which data are established and which are still provisional.
Avoid a general prediction that a change in the system will always increase or reduce your loss. The effect is individual and may be linked to transitional measures. In an ongoing case, it may be necessary to update an earlier calculation before a final settlement is concluded.
Scenarios side by side: what does this mean for your pension?
Pension loss does not arise only in the case of full incapacity for work. This overview shows how different situations work out. The amounts are a fictitious worked example based on a salary of €45,000 and pension accrual of approximately €4,000 per year.
| Scenario | What happens to accrual? | Pension loss? | What to look out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fully unfit for work, with premium-free continuation | The scheme continues accrual without you paying premiums, often based on the salary on the date you reported sick | Often limited, but rarely zero: salary growth, indexation and the extent of the waiver lag behind | Ask for the exact conditions: which portion is continued and until what date? |
| Fully unfit for work, no premium-free continuation | Accrual stops | Yes, over the entire remaining career | Check whether the scheme provided this cover; not every scheme does |
| From 40 to 24 hours | Accrual falls in proportion to the lower salary | Yes: about 40% of annual accrual, so approximately €1,600 per year | The employer’s contribution also falls; calculate using the total pensionable salary |
| Same hours, lower-paid position | Accrual falls in line with the salary difference | Yes, plus the loss of future salary development in the former position | Substantiate the career you would have had without the accident |
| Move to an employer with a less generous scheme | Same salary, lower accrual | Yes: the difference between the two schemes | Compare the schemes themselves, not just the salaries |
| Self-employed without a pension scheme | No collective accrual; you saved yourself or through an annuity | Yes, if you can show that you would plausibly have built up savings without the accident | Substantiate this with tax returns, previous deposits or a business plan |
How an expert can calculate the loss
A pension expert can compare the scenarios with and without the accident. This involves the specific scheme, accrual, expected career and any continuation of accrual. The calculation must explain which financial quantity is being compared and how a future difference is translated into present-day compensation.
Ask for a readable explanation alongside the spreadsheets. Which retirement date is used, what salary development has been assumed and which amounts are gross or net? Assumptions about future payments and valuation may also be important. You need to understand which disadvantage the outcome is intended to compensate.
An expert calculation does not take over the legal assessment. The parties may, for example, disagree on the likelihood of a promotion or the duration of the accident-related incapacity. The calculation should make those choices visible instead of quietly presenting them as facts.
Avoiding double counting with loss of income
Pension and income are linked. In a net income comparison, your own pension contributions or savings may already play a role. If a full premium is then added as extra loss without checking, double counting may occur.
You should therefore have a single coherent financial calculation made, or have the different calculations aligned with one another. State which items are included in the loss of income and which are claimed separately. The same applies to any benefits or continued pension accrual.
This is not a reason to leave out pension loss. It is a reason to calculate it precisely. A transparent distinction makes the claim stronger and prevents an insurer from rejecting a legitimate head of damage because of unclear overlap.
Fictitious example of a partial premium waiver
After an accident, an employee can still work part of their original hours. For another part, the pension provider continues accrual on the basis of the applicable incapacity-for-work provisions. This example is fictitious and says nothing about any specific fund.
An initial comparison based solely on the lower salary would overestimate the pension loss. The continued accrual must be taken into account. At the same time, it must be investigated whether the basis used matches the salary development that would have been plausible without the accident.
The eventual loss may be smaller than initially thought, but it need not be zero. The example shows why a written decision from the pension provider and the scheme rules are necessary. A general assumption about pension loss provides insufficient information for a final settlement.
Checklist before a full and final discharge
Pension loss is sometimes only discovered after the case has been closed. So before signing, check whether this item has been explicitly investigated. A line stating that pension loss is nil is not sufficient if there is no clear reason or calculation behind it.
- Are the relevant UPOs and pension scheme rules available?
- Has a premium waiver been applied for and assessed in writing?
- Have working hours, salary and career expectations been substantiated?
- Are the pension and income calculations consistent with each other?
- Have changes to the scheme and uncertainties been visibly taken into account?
- Is it clear which future claims are being settled by the agreement?
If information is still missing, discuss whether the settlement should wait or whether a specific arrangement is needed. A general verbal promise to take another look later offers less certainty than a carefully worded agreement.
Being able to check the calculation
Ask an expert to explain the comparison in understandable steps. What accrual is expected without the accident, what accrual actually remains, and how are the differences valued? A final amount without these intermediate steps makes it difficult to judge whether your specific scheme has been properly taken into account.
Check the personal data and starting points used. An incorrect number of working hours, pensionable salary or start date can affect the entire calculation. Also check whether periods of partial recovery have been treated separately. Assuming a permanent reduction from the date of the accident may be incorrect if salary and accrual initially continued in full.
Keep the different scenarios recognisable. An uncertain career step must not be included as a certainty without explanation, but nor should it be ignored without discussion. The substantiation may consist of previous development, concrete arrangements or the usual opportunities within the job. Ask what effect a different assumption has on the outcome.
Also pay attention to the relationship with other pension components. Not every change concerns only the retirement pension. Depending on the scheme, cover and conditions for other entitlements may also be relevant. The expert must state what has been examined within the scope of the instruction and what falls outside it.
Keep the version of the data on which the calculation is based. In a later update, it must be clear why amounts change: new information, a change in recovery or different calculation assumptions. This makes the pension item a verifiable part of the personal injury settlement instead of an opaque appendix added just before signing.
The legal basis for pension loss
Pension loss is ordinary financial loss; there is no separate pension provision in the law on damages:
- Article 6:96 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW): financial loss comprises losses suffered and profits forgone. Missed pension accrual is lost assets and falls within this.
- Article 6:97 of the Dutch Civil Code: the court assesses the damage in the manner most consistent with its nature; for pensions, this almost always means an actuarial or arithmetical calculation.
- Article 6:105 of the Dutch Civil Code: pension loss is, par excellence, loss that has not yet materialised. It may be assessed in advance after weighing the good and bad prospects, or paid out periodically.
- Article 6:98 of the Dutch Civil Code: the link with the accident must be substantiated; a career expectation that you would not have realised even without the accident is not a loss.
- Article 7:900 of the Dutch Civil Code: the settlement agreement. What you settle with it is determined by the text itself, not by a fixed rule. Broad wording such as “full and final discharge on both sides in respect of all damage, known and unknown” in principle also covers pension loss that was never calculated. However, an agreement may also exclude items, contain a reservation for future loss, or relate only to a defined point of dispute. Therefore, read the discharge clause and any reservations word for word before signing, and have pension loss expressly named, either as a calculated item or as an excluded reservation.
The articles have been checked on wetten.overheid.nl. Always ask the expert about the assumptions used: discount rate, indexation, retirement age and the assumption about your career without the accident.
Frequently asked questions about pension loss
Do I always suffer pension loss if I earn less?
No. The scheme and any premium waiver may limit the consequences. A comparison must be made between what would have been accrued without the accident and what is actually continued. A lower salary alone does not prove the amount.
Is a pension statement sufficient for the calculation?
It is an important starting point, but often not enough. Scheme rules, employment data and decisions on incapacity for work or premium waivers are also needed. Check whether different statements use the same starting points.
Can a self-employed person claim pension loss?
That may be possible, depending on the demonstrable provision and the financial situation. In particular, check whether missed contributions have already been included in the loss of income. Not every reduction in savings constitutes a separate pension item.
Is pension loss calculated as a percentage of the loss of salary?
A standard percentage is usually too crude. The specific scheme and personal circumstances determine the outcome. An expert calculation must explain how the future difference is determined.
Who should make the calculation?
In a simple situation, a limited comparison may be sufficient, but complex schemes often require pension expertise. The legal starting points and the arithmetical execution must be aligned with each other.
Which documents does the actuary need?
The pension scheme rules that applied at the time of the accident and the later versions, your UPOs from before and after the accident, an overview from mijnpensioenoverzicht.nl, your employment contract and salary details, and written confirmation from the pension provider regarding the premium waiver. Without the scheme rules, any calculation remains an estimate.
My accrual continues premium-free. Does that mean I have no loss?
Not necessarily. Premium-free continuation is often partial, linked to the percentage of incapacity for work, and usually based on the salary at the time you stopped working. Pay rises, promotions and additional hours that you would have had without the accident are therefore left out of the accrual. That difference may constitute a loss.
Can I still add pension loss later?
Only if the case has remained open on that point. If you have granted a full and final discharge, that claim is in principle closed, even if pensions were never discussed. So put pension loss explicitly on the agenda before signing, or have a reservation included.
Make your pension part of the assessment of your loss
Arslan Advocaten can review with you whether your pension position has been sufficiently investigated and which expertise is needed. Bring your pension statements, employment data and decisions from the pension provider. This makes it possible to assess whether a settlement offer also takes account of the consequences after your working life.
Read more about personal injury or contact us about your file.
Related articles
- Tax on personal injury compensation
- Personal injury compensation and allowances or social assistance
- How long does a personal injury case take
- Loss of income and loss of earning capacity
- Calculating loss of earning capacity
- Full and final discharge: do not sign too quickly
- How your compensation is calculated
Sources and further information
- ABP, the Dutch public-sector pension fund, on incapacity for work and pension under the ABP scheme
- Mijnpensioenoverzicht
- The Dutch judiciary (Rechtspraak) on personal injury
- The Dutch Personal Injury Council (De Letselschade Raad) on guidelines
