In today’s edition of the De Limburger newspaper (23 August 2023), an article appeared with the heading ‘Rejected as supervisor for DSM pension fund’. This article reports on the forthcoming elections for our Accountability Council and the election committee’s rejection of a candidate. The article contains a number of statements that are incorrect. DSM Nederland Pension Fund (PDN) considers it important that those directly involved – pensioners and members – are given accurate information and briefly explains the facts in the article below.
Just like every other pension fund, PDN has an Accountability Council (AC). The main task of the Council is to evaluate the actions of the Board. When doing so, the Council looks at whether the Board has considered the interests of all parties involved in a decision in a proper and well-balanced manner. The Council’s tasks and competences are set out in the Dutch Pensions Act and in the Code of the Dutch Pension Funds. This means that they are laid down by law. At PDN, the body is comprised of four pensioner representatives, two member representatives, and two employer representatives.
When selecting representatives for the Accountability Council, the Council is responsible for organising the elections. The Council appoints an election commission from its midst, consisting of members who are not electable. The election committee for the 2023 elections is made up of a representative for the pensioners and a representative for the employers. As set out in the Council’s election regulations, the election committee determines whether a candidate meets the requirements set out in the profile and informs its candidates about this in writing. The fund’s Board is in no way involved in the Council elections, nor in the selection or rejection of candidates.
Members of the Council are elected on behalf of the members and pensioners by and from among the members and pensioners. This does not mean, however, that they only promote the interests of the group by whom and from the midst of whom they are chosen. Just like every Board member, every member of the Council is expected to consider the interests of all parties – pensioners, members, and employers.
The next elections for the Council to be held by and from among the pensioners are scheduled for September 2023. Eleven people have put themselves forward as candidates for the four seats allocated to the pensioners of the fund.