The Dutch pension fund for general practitioners, Stichting Pensioenfonds voor Huisartsen (SPH), and their administrator Doctors Pension Fund Services (DPFS) have signed an agreement with pension provider PGGM to join forces and provide a better service for their members.

The medical scheme and the two providers have agreed to work together on pension administration, procurement and asset management services.

PGGM is the pension provider of five Dutch schemes, including PFZW, the country's second biggest pension scheme. Currently PGGM invests more than €105bn of pension assets in total.

The deal between the three parties will see PGGM become part-owner of DPFS from 1 January 2012. A spokesperson of PGGM confirmed that the long-term goal is to fully own the current provider.

"We are thinking in terms of bundling our strengths more than we are in thinking in terms of cost-reduction," the spokesperson said to Pension Funds Insider.

According to PFO data, SPH manages around €7.5bn for over 16.000 members.

PGGM and DPFS hope that the cooperation will be a stepping stone to offering other occupational pension schemes similar services and thereby extending their client base further.

First published 25 October 2011

azeevalkink@wilmington.co.uk