Retirement a year earlier thanks to leave-savings scheme at Royal Swinkels Family Brewers

27-05-2019

New generation scheme with personalised construction introduced at the Lieshout-based brewer

Lieshout - In 2016, Royal Swinkels Family Brewers introduced the "generation scheme", a valued scheme in which employees aged 61 and over are given the opportunity to work less, while largely maintaining their net disposable income. This makes it possible for them to work longer. Participants now have the opportunity to stop work completely between the age of 65.5 – 66. The brewer is taking the lead in the market with their introduction of this scheme. They are also the first to come up with this specific construction. The recent increase in the retirement age up to 67 prompted Royal Swinkels Family Brewers to think creatively about new opportunities for sustainable employability. This construction gives employees the opportunity to continue working part-time or to stop work earlier.

Earlier retirement with personalised approach
The generation scheme 2.0 takes a personalised approach that looks at family income and previously accrued pensions. Part-time employees who participate in the scheme work 100% so they can save up leave days. They can use this accrued leave to stop working before they reach the legal retirement age. Their employment contract and salary continues until they reach the legal retirement age. This means Royal Swinkels Family Brewers can work on reducing absenteeism and directly save on labour costs and premiums. For employees it means retirement can come earlier, with an income that is based on their personal circumstances. They can save up to 250 leave days, which means they can save more than a year's worth of leave and then retire a year earlier.

Sustainable employability is a theme that challenges organisations to structure their business processes in such a way that older employees can remain healthy and employable while also looking forward to a well-deserved retirement. Jeroen Straathof, HR Director at Royal Swinkels Family Brewers: "Our family business has many loyal employees and it's no coincidence we regularly get to toast staff members at their work anniversary. This is a very good sign, but at the same time also a reason to approach the issue of sustainable employability with an open mind. Chris van Santen from Gezond naar Pensioen (Healthy towards Retirement) helped us introduce this new scheme, which we also call ‘leave savings.’ The initial reactions have been very positive and we're now taking the next step by looking at employees' individual situations with them and making suitable proposals."