Tax & Rates

Dutch pension cap freeze proposed from 2027: what it means above €137,800

Updated: 6 October 2026 By Robert Jeffrey, Holdwise Pension Pension cap Tax Plan 2027

The Dutch pension cap is €137,800 in 2026. The cabinet proposes to keep it at that amount from 2027 up to and including 2032. Pension premium is deductible up to this cap. Normally the cap is indexed each year, so it rises with wages. The cabinet wants to stop this indexation for six years. As a director-shareholder or as an employee with a high salary, you have other ways to build pension.

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. Under the 2027 Tax Plan, the cap is frozen for six years, from 2027 up to and including 2032. About 280,000 people are affected in 2027, rising to 790,000 in 2032. If you earn more, you can build pension on the part above €137,800 only from taxed income. You can do this through net pension or your own savings and investments.

This measure is a proposal in the 2027 Tax Plan that the cabinet submitted on Budget Day, 15 September 2026, and parliament may still change it. Budget Day 2026 and the Dutch 2027 Tax Plan lists all measures in one table.

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. This rule applies only up to the cap. For the part above the cap, employers often offer net pension. You pay the premium from net salary, the benefit is tax-free, and the pension capital is exempt in box 3. With a frozen cap and a rising salary, a larger part of your pay is above the cap every year.

What the freeze costs

With a 3% wage rise the cap would have risen to about €141,900 in 2027, so the freeze leaves €4,100 of salary 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. Over six frozen years, with wages rising 3% a year, the cost 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 can take an annuity or pension with an insurer or bank within the yearly allowance, the amount you may pay in with tax relief each year, which in 2026 is 30% of your income between €19,172 and €137,800, minus a correction for pension you build through an employer. Another route is to keep profit in the company and invest it there, where the company pays corporate tax on the return (19% on the first €200,000 of profit, 25.8% above) and you pay box 2 tax only when the company pays out to you. Net pension or plain saving in box 3 is also possible. Keeping profit in the company is usually the best choice, because the company pays tax on the real return, while in box 3 you pay tax on an assumed return of 6.00%. The wealth planner 2027 compares these options side by side.

Owners who prefer to hand this over can use payroll and administration for a Dutch BV, where we prepare the payslips, the payroll tax, the bookkeeping and the annual accounts in English.

What an employee can do

Ask your employer for net pension on the part above the cap. Also use the yearly allowance and the reserve allowance for an annuity. The premium is deductible in box 1. The yearly allowance counts your income only up to the same €137,800. The proposed freeze applies to annuities too. For the employer side of Dutch pensions, see the pension obligation for Dutch employers.

Our team

Want our team to have a look?

We help you with the tax on your salary, your dividend and the money you borrow from your own company. Tell us about your situation or your plans. Our team looks at it and replies with the next step.

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 cabinet proposes to freeze the cap at €137,800 from 2027 up to and including 2032. Parliament still has to vote on it. Normally it is indexed every year. 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? +

Yes, but only from taxed income. Salary above €137,800 also stays outside the yearly annuity allowance. Net pension is one route. You can also keep profit in the company and invest it there. Building pension inside the company itself stopped in 2017.