APG partners with Nationale DenkTank 2020
How do we enhance well-being and prosperity and increase the control for middle groups, in cities and regions, now and in the future? This research question, shortly formulated as ‘A better perspective for middle groups in the Netherlands’ kicked off the fifteenth edition of the Nationale DenkTank 2020 today. Twenty selected and talented academics delve into this topical issue the next four months and will present their solutions by the end of the year. APG is proud to join the Nationale DenkTank 2020 as a theme partner, together with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, the Rabobank and the municipality of Amsterdam.
The pressure is high
If anything was revealed by the corona crisis, it is the vulnerability of our middle groups. Living in the proximity of work, having a grip on your own financial situation and a good perspective on the employment market appears to be unfeasible for many Dutch. The Nationale DenkTank 2020 is therefore focusing on four tangible and topical issues:
- Grip on finances, now and in the future: Saving money is not sexy. How do we ensure financial skills and grip and control on finances for the middle groups?
- Living and living environment: How do we arrange for sufficient affordable housing and a higher sense of broad well-being in the living environment?
- Chances on the employment market: How do we make sure that our teachers, window washers and police officers are resilient and agile on the future employment market?
- Schemes: What are the expectations of middle groups towards our schemes and how can we close the gap between expectations and impacts?
According to Gerard van Olphen, chairman of the Board of Directors of APG, this year’s theme seamlessly aligns with everything APG stands for. “Providing support to middle groups is ultimately at the core of our existence. Think about all of those teachers, nurses, police officers, construction workers and many others who are counting on us for their financial future. That means it is only logical for APG to recognize the fact that these groups are under pressure.”
The more tangible, the better
Apart from financial support to the NDT’20, APG also provides the knowledge and expertise of several colleagues in order to challenge the participants in the think-tank and to stimulate them to come up with creative solutions. How can we, for example, support middle groups in thinking about their financial future in a timely manner and in giving them more control?
Van Olphen: “The more tangible the possible solutions, the better. A plea to politics to make certain decisions is great, but we are hoping for actions APG and, better still, the pension industry as a whole, is able to take proactively. It’s about us being able to implement the results as pension industry and society. A strong position of middle groups contributes to the Netherlands being more prosperous, which is in the interest of all of us.”
What is the Nationale Denk Tank?
Foundation the Nationale DenkTank organizes a Nationale Denk Tank (NDT) every year with twenty young academics from different educational backgrounds to tackle a social problem. The NDT was established in 2005. The central issue during the NDT 2019 was “How do we realize a digital society that is healthy, resilient, honest and inclusive?”.