The Pension Provision Collective Agreement (ATV) takes account of the interests of fixed-term scientists and researchers by means of special conditions, from which both employers and employees can benefit.
Scientific staff are typically only hired for short periods. It is often impossible for them to meet the 60 month-qualifying period required to draw a pension, as stipulated in the VBL compulsory insurance scheme.
These employees can therefore opt out of the VBL compulsory insurance scheme. In this case, employers must establish an additional retirement provision plan in VBLextra instead. The advantage of this is that pension benefits can be taken from this scheme without having to meet a qualifying period.