This research project focuses on the following questions: Is the Dutch obligation to participate in industry-wide pension funds, taking into account the new pension rules in the Future Pensions Act (in Dutch: Wet toekomst pensioenen), legally permissible in the light of European competition law and European rules on the freedom to provide services? And, if this obligation is or would be found to be legally impermissible, what are the potential legal consequences under EU law, for example, for the legislator, industry-wide pension funds and current and former employees?
This research is of considerable social importance: many employees are obliged to participate in an industry-wide pension fund. A comprehensive, systematic scientific analysis of this issue is currently largely lacking and there are gaps in this area of research. The project aims to contribute, in the light of EU law, to the debate on the future sustainability of compulsory participation and to provide insights into the available legal scope for compulsory participation.
