Changes pension fund regulations 2026

If, after termination of the pension fund, you decide to take out voluntary insurance and meet the necessary requirements, you must apply for this in writing to comPlan within 30 days of termination of the pension fund. You can cancel the voluntary insurance in writing at any time with effect from the end of a calendar month.

Until now, you could change your savings option at the beginning of a calendar year. From 1 January 2026, you can change your savings option on a monthly basis. The change will take effect on the first day of the month following the notification. As previously, you must make the change via comPlan online.

Until now, you could only make voluntary purchases with comPlan up to 15 December (value date) of each calendar year at the latest. This deadline no longer applies and you can make purchases until 31 December (value date) and have them still be taken into account for the current tax period. The purchase must be made via comPlan online.

As of 1 January 2026, the registration deadline for a lump sum payment on (partial) retirement no longer applies. If you wish to receive your old-age pension or part thereof as a lump sum when you retire, you must inform us of the desired amount in writing before retirement.

comPlan requires the written consent of your spouse when paying out the old-age pension in the form of a lump sum, when financing residential property or when issuing cash payment of a vested termination benefit. As an alternative to having the request officially certified by a notary or local authority, as of
1 January 2026 your spouse will be able to visit comPlan in person. This requires an appointment with comPlan.

From 1 January 2026, there will be no entitlement to an OASI bridging pension if the insured person was terminated by their employer without notice and the termination was justified, or if their employment relationship was terminated during the trial period.

From 1 January 2026, the surviving spouse’s and partner’s pension can be paid in full or in part as a lump sum. The election of a lump-sum payment must be submitted in writing no later than three months after the death of the insured person.

If an insured person dies before retirement or a recipient of a disability pension dies before the reference age, a lump sum death benefit is paid to the survivors, irrespective of inheritance law.

From 1 January 2026, spouses, partners (including those without the same official place of residence) or children who are not entitled to a pension will receive a lump sum death benefit. Previously, only spouses, partners or children entitled to a pension received a lump sum death benefit.

From 1 January 2026, the actual lump sum payable at death therefore depends on various factors such as accumulated capital and how long pensions are paid to survivors and must therefore be calculated individually. A lump sum payable at death equal to at least the currently applicable solution will also be guaranteed in future. From 1 November 2025, you have the option of simulating your individual expected lump sum payable at death.

With the regulation change as of 1 January 2026, the order of precedence for beneficiaries in the event of death can no longer be changed. Any beneficiary order that has been submitted shall lose its validity.

In the event of death, beneficiaries will now be recognised in the following order, which cannot be changed:

A. The spouse, or if none;
B. The partner, provided that the beneficiary has been registered, or persons who were substantially supported by the insured person, or if none;
C. All children of the deceased (in equal shares), or if none;
D. The parents (in equal shares), or if none, the siblings (in equal shares).