If you accrue pension with SNPS, you received your value statement in my-Shellpension at the end of July. You may have noticed that it contains a negative return, but this doesn’t automatically mean less pension. We will explain this below.

The financial markets have taken a turn early this year
2021 was a solid year for investment. However, the markets have turned sharply this year. Inflation is rising fast. To tackle this, the central banks have raised interest rates. Loans and mortgages are also becoming more expensive. Equity markets have been bearish since the start of this year. Combine this with a tight labour market and the war in Ukraine, and it’s unsurprising that the return on investment is negative.

What does this mean for my pension capital?
If you are accruing a pension with SNPS, you will receive quarterly updates on the status of your accrued pension capital. As mentioned, a turbulent economy leads to an unstable equity market, and that creates a negative return on investment. This in turn has an adverse effect on your pension capital. But a negative return does not automatically mean less pension accrual.

Why is this not automatically negative for me?
While a negative return on our investments does mean less money for your pension capital, there is also good news. Because the European Central Bank has increased the interest rate, your pension could still become more valuable. The interest rate determines how much you can buy in pension benefits with your pension capital. Setbacks in the equity market therefore do not directly result in a lower pension. The impact of negative returns and rising interest rates on your pension differs from person to person. If you would like to know the impact on your pension, you can see a prognosis based on the current situation on my-Shell Pension. If you are already accruing a pension in the Collective Variable Pension, read the additional article for CVP participants.