This pension regulation applies to all affiliated companies within the PCP Separate Asset Fund and to all their female and male employees (hereinafter referred to as “the employees”).
This pension regulation is established pursuant to Article 5, § 1 of the LPC and has the sole purpose of introducing the supplementary pension scheme for employees falling within the scope of this pension regulation, as from 1 January 2024.
It sets out the rights and obligations of Easyvest OFP, the Affiliates, the Beneficiaries, and the Employers.
It also establishes the conditions for affiliation, as well as the rules relating to the Pension Commitment.
The rights of former Affiliates are generally defined by the pension regulation that was applicable at the time of their Exit, unless otherwise provided by law
Affiliates are classified into two categories :
The capital or corresponding annuity to which an Affiliate is entitled based on the contributions paid by their Employer in accordance with this pension regulation and the investment returns. The Supplementary Pension is an addition to the statutory pension.
Separate Assets are established within Easyvest OFP as defined in the IORP Law. The PCP Pension Commitment is managed within a specific Separate Asset Fund, the PCP Separate Asset Fund. In practice, this means that the reserves and assets linked to this PCP Pension Commitment are segregated from other assets and other separate asset funds within Easyvest OFP and therefore cannot be used for other pension commitments managed by Easyvest OFP.
Separate Assets are established within Easyvest OFP as defined in the IORP Law. The PCP Pension Commitment is managed within a specific Separate Asset Fund, the PCP Separate Asset Fund. In practice, this means that the reserves and assets linked to this PCP Pension Commitment are segregated from other assets and other separate asset funds within Easyvest OFP and therefore cannot be used for other pension commitments managed by Easyvest OFP.
Persons who, under this pension regulation, are entitled to a death benefit in the event of the Affiliate’s death before their Retirement Age or before the Supplementary Pension has been fully paid to the Affiliate following their Retirement Age.
Any legitimate child of the Affiliate, born or conceived, as well as any legally recognized natural child or adopted child of the Affiliate.
The spouse of the Affiliate who is not legally or physically separated from the Affiliate and is not in divorce or separation proceedings, or a person with no kinship or related from the third degree onward with whom the Affiliate cohabits legally and for whom the Affiliate has made a declaration under Article 1476 of the Civil Code.
Easyvest OFP, designated as the pension institution by the Employers.
The effective start of the statutory (early) retirement pension related to the professional activity that generated the supplementary pension benefits—in this case, the statutory retirement pension as an employee.
The statutory retirement age is, in principle :
The effective start of the statutory (early) retirement pension related to the professional activity that generated the supplementary pension benefits—in this case, the statutory retirement pension as an employee
The collective pension commitment made by the Employers for their employees as defined in this pension regulation. The Pension Scheme consists solely of a Pension Commitment governed by this pension regulation.
The supplementary pension commitment made by the Employers for an Affiliate and their Beneficiaries.
The Employers’ commitment is a “defined contribution” pension commitment without a guaranteed return. The Employers only guarantee the payment of the defined contributions, but make no promise regarding the capitalization of contributions and do not guarantee any return. However, the Employers will comply with the LPC Return Guarantee.
Easyvest OFP, as the pension institution, undertakes a best-efforts obligation. In other words, Easyvest OFP commits to managing the contributions paid by the Employers in the best possible way and as a reasonably prudent and diligent person, in order to achieve its objective, without committing to a result. Contributions paid by the Employers will be capitalized at the investment returns achieved by Easyvest OFP
The Affiliate may, with the agreement of their Affiliated Company, benefit from additional biometric insurance policies supplementary to the pension commitment. Currently, the institution offers death insurance, disability insurance, and/or contribution waiver insurance.
Death insurance allows Beneficiaries to receive from Easyvest OFP a lump sum in addition to the reserve accrued for the Affiliate in the event of their premature death before Retirement.
Disability insurance allows the Affiliate to receive a replacement income from Easyvest OFP in the event of disability due to illness or accident before Retirement.
Contribution waiver insurance ensures that Easyvest OFP continues to finance the pension contributions and, where applicable, the death insurance premiums, on behalf of the Affiliated Company in the event of the Affiliate’s disability.
The premiums required to finance these insurances are deducted from the Affiliate’s accrued reserve.
“Exit” means:
When, upon exit, the Affiliate chooses to leave their Acquired Reserves with Easyvest OFP, the Vested Benefit is the Supplementary Pension to which the Affiliate is entitled at the time of Retirement.
The reserves to which the Affiliate is entitled at any given time, in accordance with this pension regulation. These reserves are equal to:
The Law of 28 April 2003 on supplementary pensions and their tax regime, and certain supplementary social security benefits.
The Royal Decree of 14 November 2003 implementing the Law of 28 April 2003 on supplementary pensions and their tax regime, and certain supplementary social security benefits.
The statutory minimum return guarantee on employer contributions as provided in Article 24, § 2 of the LPC for Active Affiliates and in Article 3, § 3 of the LPC Royal Decree for Passive Affiliates, which must be guaranteed by Employers at the times defined by the LPC.
The level of the statutory return guarantee is obtained by capitalizing the contributions, less a flat fee of 5%, at an interest rate set by royal decree. In 2022, this interest rate is 1.75% per year.
In the event of a change in the interest rate for calculating the LPC Return Guarantee for Active Affiliates, in accordance with Article 24 of the LPC, the vertical method will be applied.
All affiliated companies within the PCP Separate Asset Fund that organize a pension commitment for their employees.
The Law of 27 October 2006 on the prudential supervision of occupational retirement institutions.
The Royal Decree of 12 January 2007 on the prudential supervision of occupational retirement institutions.
All employees who, on 1 January 2024 or after that date, are bound by an employment contract with an Employer—excluding students and apprentices—are affiliated to the supplementary pension scheme.
The aforementioned employees are automatically affiliated to the supplementary pension scheme, meaning:
They remain affiliated as long as they remain in service. However, the LPC provides for an exception: persons who have effectively taken their statutory (early) retirement but are subsequently retained in employment or re-employed under an employment contract with an Employer do not remain affiliated or become affiliated to the supplementary pension scheme.
The pension commitment is a “defined contribution” pension scheme providing for :
The pension liabilities and assets related to the supplementary pension scheme will be managed within Easyvest OFP in a separate asset fund as defined in Article 2, 15° of the IORP Law—the PCP Separate Asset Fund. The management and operating rules of the PCP Separate Asset Fund are established in the management agreement, in the specific and general sections of the investment principles policy, and in the specific and general sections of the Easyvest OFP financing plan.
The rules and procedures relating to the pension commitment are also set out in this pension regulation.
Since the Pension Commitment is a “defined contribution” pension commitment without a guaranteed return, the Employers are obliged, with respect to Active Affiliates, to transfer the defined contributions to Easyvest OFP, in accordance with this pension regulation and the management agreement concluded between the Employers and Easyvest OFP. The Employers do not guarantee a fixed return but are nevertheless required to comply with the LPC Return Guarantee.
The Employers undertake, with respect to the Affiliates, to make every effort to ensure the proper execution of the Pension Commitment.
The Employers shall provide Easyvest OFP, in a timely manner and at regular intervals, with all the necessary information to enable Easyvest OFP to correctly execute and manage the Pension Commitment in accordance with this pension regulation and the management agreement concluded between the Employers and Easyvest OFP. Easyvest OFP is only required to perform its obligations to the extent that all such data is provided by the Employers
The Employers are also required to promptly inform Easyvest OFP of any changes to the above data during the affiliation period.
The Employers shall set up, for the use of the Affiliates, a helpdesk organized via Easyvest OFP
The Affiliates and/or their Beneficiaries are subject to the provisions of this pension regulation. They shall provide Easyvest OFP with any missing data, where applicable.
If the Affiliates or their Beneficiaries fail to comply with any condition imposed on them by this pension regulation and thereby lose the enjoyment of any right, the Employers and Easyvest OFP shall be released, to the same extent, from their obligations under the Pension Commitment toward the Affiliate and/or their Beneficiaries.
The Employers entrust the management and execution of the Pension Commitment to Easyvest OFP.
Easyvest OFP undertakes a best-efforts obligation in this regard. In other words, Easyvest OFP commits to managing the defined contributions paid by the Employers in the best possible way and with the prudence and diligence of a reasonable person, in order to achieve its objective, without committing to a guaranteed result. Contributions paid by the Employers will be capitalized at the investment returns from the time they are credited to the individual account
Easyvest OFP manages the assets prudently in the interest of the Affiliates and Beneficiaries. To this end, Easyvest OFP establishes an investment principles policy in accordance with the IORP Law and the IORP Royal Decree. Easyvest OFP carefully monitors the proper implementation of this policy.
The purpose of the Pension Commitment, in addition to the statutory pension, is to:
The Supplementary Pension (or corresponding annuity) is paid at the time of Retirement in accordance with the LPC.
The Supplementary Pension to which the Affiliate is entitled at the time of their Retirement is equal to the amount in the Affiliate’s individual account with Easyvest OFP at that time, possibly increased up to the LPC Return Guarantee.
No later than three (3) months before their Retirement, or when Easyvest OFP is informed of the date of Retirement, the Affiliate will receive a letter from Easyvest OFP indicating the amount of their Acquired Reserves at that time, as well as the formalities relating to the payment of the Supplementary Pension.
The Affiliate must then send Easyvest OFP the completed forms and the requested information so that Easyvest OFP can proceed with the payment of the Supplementary Pension.
If the Affiliate dies before Retirement or before the Supplementary Pension has been (fully) paid following Retirement, a death benefit equal to the Affiliate’s Acquired Reserves at the time of death, plus any additional death insurance benefit, will be paid to their Beneficiaries. In the event of death, the Acquired Reserves are not increased, where applicable, by the LPC Return Guarantee.
The death benefit will be allocated in the following order :
If there is no Beneficiary under the above order, the Acquired Reserves will be paid to the legal heirs.
The Affiliate may, upon express request, change the order of Beneficiaries between rank 1) and rank 2), making the Children the primary Beneficiaries. To do so, the Affiliate must send the dedicated beneficiary form to Easyvest OFP. The Affiliate may revoke this change by sending a new form.
The Affiliate may also, upon express request, add to rank 2) of the above order the children of their Partner who are domiciled at the Affiliate’s address. To do so, the Affiliate must send the dedicated beneficiary form to Easyvest OFP. The Affiliate may revoke this extension to the Partner’s children by sending a new form.
If there are multiple Beneficiaries within the same rank, the death benefit will be shared equally.
If the Affiliate’s death results from an intentional act by the Beneficiary, that Beneficiary cannot claim the death benefit. In such a case, other Beneficiaries of the same rank, or Beneficiaries of the next rank, are entitled to the death benefit.
In all cases, Easyvest OFP will only pay the death benefit once. Neither Easyvest OFP nor the Employers can be held responsible for any tax, civil, property, or other consequences arising from the order of Beneficiaries.
After being informed of the Affiliate’s death, Easyvest OFP will send a letter to the deceased Affiliate’s official address inviting the Beneficiaries to return the duly completed forms, including the requested annexes (certificates and supporting documents) required by Easyvest OFP to process the payment of the death benefit.
In order for Easyvest OFP to proceed with the payment of the Supplementary Pension or the death benefit, it must have the salary data covering the entire period of the Affiliate’s participation in the Pension Scheme.
Easyvest OFP will request the Affiliate to complete and submit the supplementary pension payment request form, including all necessary information and annexes required to process the payment.
Easyvest OFP will make the payment within three (3) months of receiving all the necessary information to pay the supplementary pension.
The Affiliate or, where applicable, their Beneficiary(ies) may choose between :
However, conversion of the capital into an annual life annuity is not possible when the annual amount of the initial annuity does not exceed five hundred euros (€500) gross. This amount is indexed in establishing a system for linking public sector wages, salaries, pensions, allowances, and subsidies, certain social benefits, wage ceilings for calculating certain social security contributions for workers, as well as social obligations for the self-employed, to the consumer price index.
Without prejudice to the application of mandatory provisions in this area, the amount of the annuity is determined on the basis of the rates (guaranteed or not) applied by Easyvest OFP on the date the annuity starts, taking into account an annual indexation of 2% by geometric progression. For the pension capital or the surrender value payable to the Affiliate after the date the annuity starts, payment will continue for life at a rate of 80% in favor of the Affiliate’s Partner (who was already their Partner on the date the initial annuity started). For this purpose, a “Partner” means a person to whom the Affiliate is married and not legally separated, or, failing that, a person with whom the Affiliate is legally cohabiting under Articles 1475 et seq. of the Civil Code or equivalent foreign legislation.
If a request is made to convert a capital sum into a life annuity as described above, Easyvest OFP reserves the right to transfer this capital to another pension institution that will assume all annuity obligations, in compliance with any mandatory provisions in this area. The Affiliate agrees to this possibility of transfer. In the case of such a transfer, Easyvest OFP is released from all obligations related to the annuity and its payment.
If Easyvest OFP does not receive a request for conversion from the Affiliate or, where applicable, from the Beneficiary within one month from the above-mentioned notification from Easyvest OFP, they will be deemed to have opted for a single lump-sum payment.
The employer contribution is collected by Easyvest OFP from the Employers in compliance with tax rules and social security contributions. A management agreement is concluded between the Employers and Easyvest OFP, setting out the arrangements for collecting and transferring this employer contribution.
If Employees do not pay the contributions within the prescribed period, Easyvest OFP—after issuing a reminder—will formally serve notice on the Employees concerned to pay the additional contribution. If the Employees concerned still fail to pay, Easyvest OFP will inform each Affiliate of the non-payment of the relevant contributions one (1) month after the payment due date.
The Active Affiliate is immediately entitled to their Acquired Reserves and Vested Benefits, without any waiting period.
If, at the time of Exit, the Affiliate chooses to transfer their Acquired Reserves accumulated under this Pension Scheme to another pension institution (in accordance with the LPC), the Employer is required, at the time of transfer, to settle any shortfall relative to the LPC Return Guarantee as of the date of Exit.
In accordance with Belgian tax legislation in this area, the Affiliate may use their Pension Commitment as collateral for financing real estate.
This legislation specifically provides that an advance and a pledge (including the assignment of rights to a third party) may only be granted to enable the Affiliate to acquire, build, improve, restore, or convert real estate located within the European Economic Area and generating taxable income. Furthermore, advances and loans must be repaid as soon as the above-mentioned properties are removed from the Affiliate’s assets.
As long as the Affiliate’s Pension Commitment is being used as collateral, the written consent of Easyvest OFP is required for the above-mentioned transactions. The Affiliate may obtain the relevant conditions, limitations, and procedures from Easyvest OFP.
It should be noted that using the Affiliate’s Pension Commitment to finance real estate may mean that the Acquired Reserves (in the event of departure) cannot be transferred or redeemed by the Affiliate and that the Affiliate’s available investment strategy choices may be limited, or Easyvest OFP may modify the investment strategy.
Each month, Easyvest OFP determines, based on the data provided by the Employers, which Affiliates have exited.
Easyvest OFP will then notify the exiting Affiliates by email of the amount of their Acquired Reserves and Vested Benefits. However, Affiliates whose Acquired Reserves are less than one hundred and fifty euros (€150), in accordance with Article 31, § 1 of the LPC, will not receive this notification.
The exiting Affiliate then has 30 days (from the date of Easyvest OFP’s communication) to indicate their choice among the options below regarding the use of their Acquired Reserves, possibly increased to the minimum amounts guaranteed under the LPC Return Guarantee:
The exiting Affiliate does not have the choices listed above if their Acquired Reserves at the time of Exit are less than one hundred and fifty euros (€150), in accordance with Article 32, § 1 of the LPC. This amount is indexed in accordance with the provisions of the Law of 2 August 1971 establishing a system for linking public sector wages, salaries, pensions, allowances, and subsidies, certain social benefits, wage ceilings for calculating certain social security contributions for workers, as well as social obligations for the self-employed, to the consumer price index. In this case, the Acquired Reserves remain with Easyvest OFP without modification of the Pension Commitment, and the Affiliate may claim them upon Retirement.
If the Affiliate lets the above 30-day period expire without making a choice, they are deemed to have opted for option 3:
After this period expires, the Affiliate may still request at any time the transfer of their reserves to:
If a former Affiliate who has chosen to transfer their Acquired Reserves in accordance with option 1 or 2 later rejoins the Pension Scheme after transferring their Acquired Reserves, they will be considered a new Affiliate.
In the event of termination of the Pension Scheme or bankruptcy and/or dissolution or liquidation of an Employer, the Affiliates concerned shall, pursuant to the LPC, acquire the Acquired Reserves, possibly supplemented to reach the LPC Return Guarantee.
Easyvest OFP prepares an annual report, called the “Annual Management Report,” on the management of the Pension Commitment and makes it available to the Employers and Affiliates.
This report includes the following :
Each year, in accordance with the LPC, Sigedis sends a statement of pension rights (the pension statement) to each Affiliate, with the exception of pensioners and dormant members. Easyvest OFP also sends a statement of pension rights to these Affiliates.
This pension rights statement is prepared in accordance with the provisions of Article 26 of the LPC and the relevant provisions of the IORP Law.
In the event of legislative or case-law changes affecting the pension commitments of the Employers, or significant economic or financial changes, this pension regulation may be amended with the agreement of the Employers and Easyvest OFP.
In such a case, the Affiliates will be informed one (1) month before the amendment to the pension regulation takes effect.
All parties involved in the Pension Scheme, including all parties responsible for its management and execution (that is, among others, Easyvest OFP and any external service providers it engages), undertake to comply with the applicable legislation and regulations on the protection of personal data.
They may process the personal data of Affiliates and Beneficiaries obtained in the context of the organization, management, and execution of the Pension Scheme only in compliance with such applicable legislation and regulations on personal data protection. These parties undertake to update the data, correct it, and delete incorrect or unnecessary data within the prescribed or agreed deadlines.
These parties shall take all appropriate technical and organizational measures necessary to protect personal data against unlawful or accidental destruction, accidental loss, alteration, or unauthorized access and other unauthorized processing of such personal data.
he parties shall implement all necessary measures to ensure compliance with the commitments set forth in this article so as to prevent any use of the personal data of Affiliates and Beneficiaries for purposes other than the management and execution of the Pension Commitment, or by persons not authorized to process such personal data.
This regulation is subject to Belgian law.
Each party may bring the dispute before the competent Belgian court.
This pension regulation enters into force on 1 January 2024 and is established for an indefinite duration.