Tax & Rates

Dutch pension cap frozen in 2027: what it means above €137,800

Updated: 15 september 2026 Holdwise editorial team Pension Pension cap Tax Plan 2027

Pension premium is deductible up to a maximum. That maximum is the pension cap, and it is at €137,800 in 2026. Each year the cap is indexed so it grows with wages. For 2027 up to and including 2032 the cabinet stops the indexation.

Short answer

The pension cap (pensioenaftopping) is the salary level up to which you can build pension with tax relief. In 2026 the cap is €137,800 pensionable salary. Normally the cap rises each year with wages. The 2027 Tax Plan freezes it for six years, 2027 up to and including 2032. About 280,000 people are affected in 2027, rising to 790,000 in 2032. Anyone earning more builds pension on the part above €137,800 from net money only, through net pension or private wealth. Holdwise explains what the freeze costs and which alternatives a director-shareholder and a high-earning employee have.

Status: Proposed on Budget Day. This measure is part of the 2027 Tax Plan the cabinet submitted on 15 September 2026. The lower house votes on 12 November 2026, the senate around 16 December 2026. Every measure in one table: Budget Day 2026 and the Dutch 2027 Tax Plan.

How the cap works

On pensionable salary up to the cap you pay premium from gross salary: the premium is deductible and the later benefit is taxed. Above the cap that rule (premium deductible, benefit taxed) stops. Employers often offer net pension for the part above the cap: premium from net salary, benefit tax-free, and the accrued capital is exempt in box 3. With a frozen cap and a rising salary, a larger part of your pay falls above the cap every year.

What the freeze costs

With a 3% wage rise the cap would have moved to about €141,900 in 2027. Through the freeze €4,100 of salary stays outside tax-favoured accrual. At a premium of 20% that is €820 less deductible premium, worth about €400 in tax a year in the top bracket. For one year that is manageable; over six frozen years, with wages rising 3% a year, it grows to about €2,500 of tax a year by 2032. The cabinet expects €66 million in 2027, rising to €229 million a year.

What a director-shareholder can do

Pension accrual inside your own BV stopped in 2017. A director-shareholder with a higher income chooses between three routes. One: an annuity or pension with an insurer or bank, within the yearly allowance, the amount you may pay in with tax relief each year; under the new pension act that is 30% of your income above a threshold. Two: keep profit in the company and invest it there at 19% corporate tax on the return, with box 2 only at distribution. Three: net pension or plain saving in box 3. Route two usually wins, because the company is taxed on the real return and box 3 on an assumed 6.00%. The wealth planner 2027 puts those routes side by side.

What an employee can do

Ask the employer for net pension on the part above the cap. Use the yearly allowance and the reserve allowance for an annuity as well. Both stand apart from the cap and are deductible in box 1. The cap only affects the premium through the employer. The employer side of Dutch pensions is in the pension obligation for Dutch employers.

Advice, free of obligation

Would you like our team to take a look at your situation?

Tell us where you stand or what you’re planning. Our team replies with advice, free of any obligation.

This article is part of Doing Business in the Netherlands, the complete 2026 guide.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Dutch pension cap? +

The pensionable salary level above which pension accrual with tax relief stops. In 2026 the cap is €137,800.

What changes in 2027? +

The cap is frozen at €137,800 from 2027 up to and including 2032 in place of being indexed. With every wage rise a larger part of the salary falls outside tax-favoured accrual.

Can a director-shareholder still build pension above the cap? +

Through an annuity within the yearly allowance, through net pension, or by keeping profit in the company and investing it there. Accrual inside the company itself stopped in 2017.