Pension in the hospitality industry: how much do you pay and what do you build up?
Do you work in a hotel, restaurant or another hospitality business in the Netherlands? In most cases, you automatically start building up a pension from the age of 18. Your employer arranges this for you through Pensioenfonds Horeca & Catering (PH&C), the Dutch pension fund for the hospitality and catering industry.
Since 1 January 2026, pensions in the hospitality industry work differently. Instead of building up a fixed percentage of pension benefits each year, you and your employer now contribute money towards your personal pension capital.
But how much do you pay yourself? How much does your employer contribute? And how does it work if you are an on-call worker, temporary agency worker or freelancer? We explain it simply.
How does pension work in the hospitality industry in 2026?
If your employer participates in the Pensioenfonds Horeca & Catering pension scheme, you start building up a pension from the age of 18. You build up pension for every hour you work, and your employer contributes as well.
Since 1 January 2026, you build up personal pension capital. You and your employer each pay half of the contribution. Pensioenfonds Horeca & Catering invests this money for your retirement.
In 2026, you and your employer together contribute 16.8% of your pensionable earnings base towards your retirement pension. This is the part of your salary used to calculate your pension contributions.
The contribution is divided equally:
Who pays? | Contribution |
|---|---|
Employee | 8.4% |
Employer | 8.4% |
Total | 16.8% |
Your employer therefore contributes the same amount towards your pension as you do.
In addition, you and your employer each pay 0.17% of your pensionable salary for partner's and orphan's pension insurance. This insurance provides an income for your partner and children if you die.
You don't pay pension contributions on your entire salary
You don't pay pension contributions on your full salary. To determine the amount on which you do pay contributions, your pensionable salary is calculated first. This is the part of your gross salary that counts towards your pension. In our example, this consists of your annual gross salary plus 8% holiday allowance.
An amount on which you do not build up pension is then deducted from your pensionable salary. This is known as the franchise. The franchise takes into account the Dutch state pension (AOW) that you may receive later.
The amount of the franchise depends on the number of hours you work. For someone working full-time, the franchise in 2026 is €15,308 per year.
Suppose you earn €2,500 gross per month. In our example, the calculation would look like this:
Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|
Gross salary: €2,500 × 12 | €30,000 |
8% holiday allowance | + €2,400 |
Pensionable salary | €32,400 |
Franchise | - €15,308 |
Pensionable earnings base | €17,092 |
Contribution to pension capital | approx. €2,871 per year |
Employee's share | approx. €1,436 |
This is a simplified example. Your actual pension contribution is calculated based on your pensionable salary and the number of paid hours. The contribution shown on your payslip may therefore differ from this example.
In addition, the employee and employer in this example together pay approximately €110 per year for partner's and orphan's pension insurance.
Your employer therefore pays a substantial part of your pension contributions. If you only look at the amount deducted from your payslip, you are only seeing part of the total pension contribution.
What changed in 2026?
Until the end of 2025, Pensioenfonds Horeca & Catering used a different pension scheme. Each year, you accrued a certain amount of pension entitlement. From 2023 onwards, this was 1.47% of your pensionable earnings base per year.
Since 1 January 2026, this percentage no longer applies.
You can therefore no longer say: "I build up 1.47% pension every year."
Under the new scheme, money is contributed to your personal pension capital. Pensioenfonds Horeca & Catering invests this money. How much pension you eventually receive depends on factors including:
how much is contributed during your working life;
how long you build up pension;
investment returns;
changes in interest rates and life expectancy;
the rules of the pension scheme at the time you retire.
Your eventual pension income is therefore not fixed years in advance. Depending on financial results, it may be higher or lower.
How much pension contribution do you pay at different salary levels?
The examples below show approximately how much you and your employer contribute to your pension in 2026 at three different full-time salary levels. We have included 8% holiday allowance in the calculations.
Gross salary per month | Annual pensionable salary | Retirement pension contribution | Total paid by employee* | Total paid by employer* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
€1,800 | €23,328 | approx. €1,347 | approx. €713 | approx. €713 |
€2,500 | €32,400 | approx. €2,871 | approx. €1,491 | approx. €1,491 |
€3,500 | €45,360 | approx. €5,049 | approx. €2,601 | approx. €2,601 |
* This amount includes the contribution for partner's and orphan's pension insurance.
Do you earn more? There is a maximum annual salary on which you build up pension under the basic scheme. In 2026, this is €52,294 for a full-time employee.
These examples are indicative. Your personal situation may be different, for example if you work part-time or have varying working hours.
Do on-call workers also build up a pension?
Yes, in most cases. If you are an on-call worker employed directly by a hospitality employer that participates in Pensioenfonds Horeca & Catering, you generally fall under the same pension scheme as other employees.
With an on-call contract, your working hours and income may vary from month to month. As a result, your pension contributions may also vary.
For an accurate calculation, both your income and the number of paid hours are therefore important.
How does pension work for temporary agency workers?
Do you work in a hotel or restaurant through a temporary employment agency? In that case, you are usually employed by the agency. Your pension may therefore be arranged through StiPP, the pension fund for temporary agency workers and seconded employees, rather than through Pensioenfonds Horeca & Catering.
This means that two people doing the same job in the same hotel may still be covered by different pension schemes. It depends, among other things, on who employs them.
What if you are self-employed?
If you are self-employed, you do not automatically build up a pension through Pensioenfonds Horeca & Catering. There is also no employer contributing towards your pension.
You therefore need to set aside money for retirement yourself. You could, for example, use an annuity or a dedicated pension investment or savings account.
The Dutch government provides tax-efficient options for this through your jaarruimte and reserveringsruimte. The amount you can contribute with tax benefits depends on your income and personal circumstances.
Are you leaving an employed position in the hospitality industry to become self-employed? Under certain conditions, you may be able to continue your Pensioenfonds Horeca & Catering pension voluntarily for a limited period. However, you will then have to pay both the employee's contribution and the former employer's contribution yourself.
Don't forget about the Dutch state pension
Your workplace pension is not your only potential source of retirement income. For many people in the Netherlands, retirement income consists of several components:
AOW state pension + pension through employer(s) + any personal pension provisions
In 2026, the Dutch AOW pension age is 67. For younger employees, the age at which they will eventually receive AOW has not yet been fixed. The AOW pension age may change in the future.
If you have lived or worked outside the Netherlands for an extended period, this may also affect the amount of AOW you receive.
What does this mean for you?
While working in the hospitality or catering industry, you build up money for your retirement. And you don't do it alone: your employer contributes the same amount towards your retirement pension as you do. Together, these contributions build your personal pension capital.
How much pension you eventually receive depends on how much is contributed and on investment returns. The longer you build up a pension, the more contributions are made.
Want to know how much pension you have built up? Log in with your DigiD at phenc.nl/mijn-phenc to view your current pension details.
Starting a new job in hospitality?
Pension is just one part of your employment benefits. When considering a new job, don't just look at your gross salary. Also consider your pension, holiday entitlement, allowances and other employment conditions.
Please note: The amounts, percentages and calculation examples in this article are based on the 2026 pension scheme of Pensioenfonds Horeca & Catering (PH&C). Pension amounts and conditions, such as the pension franchise and maximum pensionable salary, may be adjusted periodically. Always check the Pensioenfonds Horeca & Catering website for the most up-to-date information. No rights can be derived from the information or calculation examples provided in this article.
Information checked against:
Pension Fund for Hospitality & Catering (PH&C)
Pension Fund for Hospitality & Catering (PH&C) manages the pension scheme for employees in the Dutch hospitality and catering industry. The information about pension contributions, pension accrual and the pension scheme in this article has been checked against the latest information provided by PH&C.