In a previous blog we discussed some of the difficulties of dividing foreign pensions after a divorce in The Netherlands. In two recent cases the Dutch courts highlight the need to assess each pension individually for a fair division of foreign pensions.
UN Pension
Various different international organisations have bases here in The Netherlands. For example NATO, the International Criminal Court (ICC), the European Patent Organisation and the European Medicines Agency. These organisations have their own staff regulations and their own pension funds which supersede national rules. So how does this work in practice when getting a divorce in The Netherlands?
A recent case before the court of The Hague decided the following. Parties were married under Dutch law. Therefore, all pensions built up during the marriage would normally be equalised (shared) according to Dutch law. However, the husband was employed by the International Criminal Court, a UN body. His pension is built up in the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF). As the UN has the authority to establish its own regulations regarding social security and pensions, the UNJSPF is not bound by national jurisduction. Therefore Dutch law does not apply. Nor can the UN be bound by a Dutch court decision that is not in line with the regulation.
This conclusion does not mean the husband does not have to divide his pension. The court ruled:
Nevertheless, the pension accrued by the husband constitutes an asset within the parties’ marital community of property, and an ancillary provision must be made for it. Since the parties are married in full community of property, the pension accrued by the husband during the marriage with the UNJSPF must therefore be divided equally. Unlike the Wvps (Dutch pension law), however, the reference date for the end date of the accrued pension is not the date of registration of the divorce decree in the civil registry, but the regular reference date for the dissolution of the marital community – namely, the date of filing the petition for divorce.
The court then examined what rights to pension the wife had under the UNJSPF. It agreed with the wife’s request to structure its decision in accordance with the pension regulation. In this case, the court order must determine the exact amount or percentage the wife is entitled to in order for the wife to receive pension. The reference date also differs from Dutch law. The court finally made an additional provision that if the UNJSPF were to reject the wife’s claim, the husband is obliged to pay out half of his pension directly when his pension rights commence.
Pensions from international organisations
Each intergovernmental or international organisation has different pension rules. Therefore, it is important to individually assess the pension regulation and the provisions for (ex-)spouses in case of divorce. A request to the Dutch courts can then be tailored to the regulation to ensure (in as much as possible) that direct payment is possible in the future.
Some regulations also provide for continuation of a widowers pension, even after divorce. The regulation may stipulate that spousal maintenance must be still ongoing to qualify. By carefully drafting an agreement or request, these rights can be preserved in some cases.
German Altersrente
In a decision from the appeal court of ‘s-Hertogenbosch from April 2025, the court ruled that a German pension, ‘Altersrente’, is subject to Dutch pension law. The husband argued that as Altersrente is a state pension, similar to the AOW (Dutch State pension) in The Netherlands, this pension was not subject to equalisation.
The appeal court disagreed:
The foreign pension scheme at issue here (Altersrente), in the court’s opinion, fulfills a function within the context of social life in the country in question – Germany – that sufficiently corresponds to the function of Dutch pension schemes to which the Wvps [Dutch pension law] applies. To this end, the court considers it important that the pension accrual in question – which accrued to an Altersrente claim – could only have occurred because the husband worked in Germany. In this respect, the Altersrente exhibits similarities with Dutch pension schemes to which the Wvps applies. This is also supported by the fact that, under German law, pension accrual during the marriage must also be equalized based on the so-called “Versorgungsausgleich”.
However, the court was receptive to another argument. As the husband did not build up a state pension in The Netherlands (AOW) during the marriage and the wife did, by splitting the Altersrente 50/50 the husband would be unfairly penalised. Part of this reasoning is because the Altersrente contains elements of a state pension in Germany. The court therefore ruled that it is reasonable and fair that the husband keeps a part of the Altersrente from the date he would normally have received AOW, if he had been insured in The Netherlands. The rest of the Altersrente is split equally.
Conclusion: foreign pensions require a tailor made approach
If Dutch law is applicable to foreign pensions, then it is crucial to check whether any form of pension reserve is a pension under Dutch law. In practice, most forms of pension reserve, whether in a fund or private policy, are deemed pension and must be divided in some way. How the division takes place will vary. Therefore, it is important to structure agreements or requests for court orders carefully in order to ensure that pension rights are preserved. The preferred method is direct payment from the pension fund. However, as with the Altersrente case, this is not always possible. In that case, the other spouse will have to make the ordered payments at a later date.
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If you have any questions about sharing foreign pensions, please contact us. We regularly advise clients regarding foreign pensions and the implications of Dutch law.
