Dutch pension funds saw funding ratios drop in the quarter ended March 31, as the coronavirus pandemic battered markets.
The funded status of the average Dutch plan fell to 89.6% as of March 31, down from 96% at the end of February, 104% at the end of December and 104.8% at the end of the first quarter 2019, according to central bank De Nederlandsche Bank.
Pension fund assets fell to €1.45 trillion ($1.6 trillion) as of March 31, down 7.1% for the month, while liabilities grew 6.8% to €1.62 trillion. "Both developments depress the pension funds' financial position," a statement accompanying the data said. Year-over-year figures were not available.
The average policy ratio — the average funded status over a 12-month period — also fell, to 99.7% as of March 31. That result compared with 100.9% as of Feb. 29, 102.2% as of Dec. 31 and 107.3% as of March 31, 2019.
