Results pension fund APC under pressure

WILLEMSTAD — The results of general pension fund APC were under pressure in 2022 as a result of disappointing investment results and the war in the Ukraine and the associated price- and interest rate increases. The coverage rate declined from 111.5 percent in 2021 to 103.7 percent at the end of 2022.

In its annual report APC maintains that its available assets of 5,148 million guilders ($2,876 million) are sufficient to cover its pension liabilities. However, the coverage rate of 103.7 percent is insufficient to cover general risks; that requires a rate of 105 percent. In the long term, APC wants to achieve a coverage rate of 115 percent “so that there are enough reserves to cover unexpected setbacks like disappointing investment results.”

APC’s assets declined from 5.936 million ($3,316 million) to 5.552 million ($3,101 million) at the end of 2022. Investment reserves, in 2021 still 376 million guilders ($210 million), dropped to zero at the end of 2022.

The pension fund says that the decline of the coverage rate is mainly due to disappointing results with investments abroad. It mentions the war in the Ukraine and interest increases by central banks as the causes.

APC increased its domestic investment portfolio in 2022. In 2021 they represented 38 percent of the total portfolio, in 2022 it went up to 45 percent.

The target for return on investment is 4.6 percent but that was not feasible in 2022, although the result on domestic investment went up from 5 to 9.5 percent; investments abroad however showed a positive result of 10.7 percent in 2021 but dropped dramatically to minus 13.8 percent in 2022. The combined investment result is 4.1 percent negative.

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