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Quarterly report Q1 2026

Press release
23 april 2026
  • Current funding ratio fell to 119.1 per cent in Q1
  • First quarter investment return: -0.5 per cent (-€ 2.8 billion)
  • Pension liabilities rose to € 445 billion in Q1
  • Policy funding ratio rises to 119.9 per cent in Q1 

ABP’s financial position in the first quarter of 2026 was slightly worse than in the previous quarter.  The current funding ratio fell from 123.5 per cent at the end of 2025 to 119.1 per cent at the end of March 2026. The lower interest rates caused the fund’s pension liabilities to increase to € 445 billion. The investments posted a slightly negative return of -0.5 per cent in the first quarter. As a result, ABP’s assets amounted to € 530 billion.

Chair of the Board Harmen van Wijnen: ‘The turmoil in the Middle East made it a difficult first quarter. January and February were good investment months, but news of the war in Iran led to declines in financial markets.

Peace and security in the world ensure better investment results for pensions. At the same time, ABP’s investment portfolio is designed to protect investments and therefore pension assets in a turbulent world. We diversify our investments across many countries and different types of investments and with a long-term perspective. When one investment category underperforms, another usually performs better, and vice versa. This makes us more resistant to fluctuations.

ABP is well on track to transition to the new pension scheme in 2027. ABP would like to move to the new pension scheme with a funding ratio of at least 110 per cent. At this time, the funding ratio is therefore high enough (119.1 per cent). We will keep a close eye on this as we move closer to switching to the new pension scheme.’ 

What can ABP participants expect?

In January this year, ABP increased pensions by 2.84 per cent. This fully offset the price increase from 1 September 2024 to 1 September 2025 (2.84 per cent). In the previous four years, ABP was able to increase pensions in full almost every year. This was possible because ABP was able to make use of the relaxed rules of the government, because we want to transfer to the new pension scheme on 1 January 2027. In the transition to this new pension scheme, we will distribute ABP’s total pension assets. We will calculate exactly how much each pension is worth in total and how much money will be added to the joint buffer. How much we can distribute will depend mainly on the funding ratio as at 31 December 2026. The higher the funding ratio, the more we will be able to distribute. Conversely, the lower the funding ratio, the less we will be able to distribute. If the funding ratio as at 31 December 2026 is above 109 per cent, we will be able to give compensation for increases that we could not always give in the past. In that case, we can also give everyone an extra increase. 

ABP's first quarter funding ratios

In the first quarter of 2026, the current funding ratio fell from 123.5 per cent to 119.1 per cent. This was due to lower interest rates. The policy funding ratio (the average of the current funding ratios over the last 12 months) increased by 1.6 per cent in the first quarter: from 118.3 per cent to 119.9 per cent.

How did ABP’s investments and liabilities fare in 2025?

ABP’s available assets decreased from € 542 billion at year-end 2024 to € 533 billion at year-end 2025. ABP achieved a return of -1.6% (- € 8.5 billion) for 2025 as a whole. In the fourth quarter, the return was +0.2%. Equity markets generally had a good year. However, other asset classes performed worse. The main causes were rising interest rates and the US dollar, which fell almost 12% against the euro in 2025. The actuarial interest rate rose to 3.2% in the fourth quarter. As a result, the value of the pensions that ABP must pay out now and in the future fell by € 6 billion in the fourth quarter to € 432 billion at the end of 2025.

Key figures
 Q1 2025Q2 2025Q3 2025Q4 2025Q1 2026
Current funding ratio (%)115.6 117.5121.7123.5119.1
Policy funding ratio (%)113.1113.7115.3118.3119.9
Available assets (€ billion) *520 522532533530
Liabilities (€ billion)450444438432445
Actuarial interest rate (%)2.62.72.83.23.0

* The main reasons for the changes in available assets are achieved investment returns, contributions, and pension payments.

Visual representation of coverage rates per month, with figures available in the table 'Development funding ratio' below.

Development funding ratio
 Current funding ratioPolicy funding ratio
April 2025111.2113.6
May 2025115.2113.6
June 2025117.5113.7
July 2025119.7114.2
August 2025120.4114.7
September 2025121.7115.3
October 2025123.6116.2
November 2025122.2117.3
December 2025123.5118.3
January 2026123.0119.0
February 2026122.2119.7
March 2026119.1119.9
Appendix: Notes on return on ABP Investment Portfolio
 Weighting in %Return in % in Q1 2026Return in billion € in Q1 2026Return in % in YTD 2026Return in billion € in YTD 2026Return in % in 2025Return in billion € in 2025
Fixed Income  (total)41.0-0.3-0.6-0.3-0.6-0.2-0.5
Treasuries10.7-0.5-0.3-0.5-0.30.90.5
Treasuries Long Duration12.90.40.30.40.3-6.7-4.6
Corporate bonds Investment Grade*8.3-1.0-0.4-1.0-0.44.22.3
Corporate bonds High Yield1.4-1.3-0.1-1.3-0.1--
Private debt1.3-0.10.0-0.10.0--
Emerging market debt4.6-0.20.0-0.20.04.51.1
Mortgages1.9-0.30.0-0.30.02.50.2
Equity (total)30.5-3.1-4.9-3.1-4.96.210.7
Equity Developed26.7-4.1-5.8-4.1-5.83.96.2
Equity Emerging3.82.80.92.80.920.24.5
Alternative investments (total)18.83.13.13.13.10.20.1
Private Equity8.60.70.30.70.3-4.2-2.1
Commodities *3.27.71.67.71.610.02.1
Infrastructure6.53.11.03.11.0-11.20.4
Hedge funds (in winddown) **0.63.00.13.00.10.00.0
Real Estate9.51.60.81.60.8-5.1-2.6
Portfolio return (before overlay)99.7-0.3-1.7-0.3-1.71.47.6
Overlay *** (total)0.3 -0.2-1.1-0.2-1.1-3.0-16.1
Interest hedge *** 0.10.5    0.10.5-4.021.7
Currency hedge *** -0.2-1.3-0.2-1.31.05.6
Other *** -0.1-0.3-0.1-0.30.0-0.1
Total100.0-0.5-2.8-0.5-2.8-1.6-8.5

* Result based on Corporate bonds total, new division commenced Q4 2025
** Commodities has 100% USD exposure. Expressed in USD, the return on investments for Q1 is 5.5%
*** Contribution to total return on investments

Explanation of return on investment portfolio

ABP’s investment portfolio achieved a return (before overlay) of -0.3% for the first quarter of 2026. This is an investment result of -€ 1.7 billion euros. The total return (including overlay) for the fourth quarter is -0.5%, which translates to -€ 2.8 billion.

Read the Q1 2026 press release (opens in a new tab)