Wilco Ringeling - former employee of NN

Our meeting was online via Teams. While that became the standard in recent years, Wilco was already working with online meeting tools before the Covid pandemic. “A fair share of my work was international, so I already had some experience in working online. In those days, we would sometimes drive to our office in Amsterdam just to have a call with someone in America. Not very efficient, of course.” 

“I worked at ING and NN for 34 years and always did HR-related work, except for a short stint at Risk. In 2020, when I was almost 60, I was made redundant. Not exceptional for someone who had been working here for such a long time. I thought it was a good moment to leave, so I started my own business as a self-employed professional. Initially on a full-time basis, but now I’m phasing out. I'm not yet officially retired, but I've been in this grey area for several years, during which I've been asking myself ‘How will I make ends meet?’ and ‘How am I going to spend my time?’ I've now decided to start my retirement next year, but not yet full time.”

NN Group's Association of former employees (VO-NN)
“I want to take on a few more assignments and I’m a member of a pension committee for former employees of NN (and ING). It's a committee that focuses on the pension-related interests of our members. As a psychologist, I'm a bit of the odd one out in a team of mostly econometricians and actuaries. Doing this work lets me stay in touch with former colleagues on a regular basis, which I enjoy because I really miss them. My departure happened very suddenly and swiftly when I became redundant and the pandemic started. I was just suddenly gone.”

Not purely a rational decision
“I've always been well-informed in pension matters. On behalf of the employer, I was involved in CLA negotiations, which included pension. Nevertheless, I’ve noticed that it's a difficult topic now that my retirement is coming close. I want to keep doing serious things, as a volunteer or in a paid job. I've discovered that it's not purely a rational decision, even though I knew exactly where my pension was at. It's hard to suddenly be a ‘pensioner’.”

Plenty of options
“There are plenty of options and possibilities. Retiring earlier or later; high or low pension benefits. I've helped lots of people who thought they'd need to retire when they reach their Dutch state pension (AOW) retirement age. But that isn't necessary at all. It can be quite complicated, having so many options, so it's important for you to first decide what you’d like to do. That's more than just a rational decision, though. You've got online tools to help you. The websites are user-friendly, once you know what you want. And by the way, I wouldn't advise anyone to end all of their activities when their retirement starts. ‘Stay as active as you can,’ is what I always advise soon-to-be pensioners.”

Take your time
“Figuring out what you want may take some time, and I always advise people approaching their pension to take that time. Scale down your work gradually and look for other things to do. I was initially planning to take on completely different activities, but now I'm doing what I always used to do: HR work. You need time to make those decisions. Indeed, not having to work when I became redundant helped me in this process. It gave me the time I needed, and I was given access to a coach and training programmes. So I was lucky.

Back in the day, there used to be retirement courses which couples were required to attend. These courses were sneered at, but everyone found them useful once they had taken the time to go there with their partner. My advice to the employer, more so than to the pension fund, is to give people time to think carefully about what they'd like to do when they’re retired. And if they don't give you that time, you should make time by yourself. You could start by retiring one day a week, to help you find the answers to significant questions like how you'll have a meaningful life in retirement.”