2020 was a special year. Perhaps the most special year we have experienced so far. The coronavirus turned our world upside down overnight. For us it was also a useful test: can we respond quickly to such a situation that nobody sees coming? To be frank, we did quite well.
We learned how to work in a new way very quickly. At home, with your own PC or laptop. And via video conferencing when we needed to consult with colleagues. Our pension fund employees made these changes effortlessly. The administrative work continued, and everyone received his or her pension on time. And AZL’s Customer Service was there to provide you with support every working day. As you would expect.
Investments did well again, with the funding ratio up slightly
In financial terms, the pension fund also fared quite well in 2020. We took a little less risk with our investments than before. Nevertheless, our shares and bonds again achieved an excellent return of 8.83%. Partly because of this, our funding ratio increased slightly in 2020. We ended the year at 117% compared to 116.3% 12 months earlier.
We are a ‘shrinking’ pension fund. There are no new members; the number of members is decreasing every year. In 2020, the number of active members fell by 80 from 1,391 to 1,311. The number of deferred members fell from 1,052 to 1,029. The number of pension beneficiaries rose from 2,794 to 2,842.