Dutch pension funds in control of more than €700 billion are preparing for another tough year of frozen pension payments and perhaps even cuts, thanks to the European Central Bank's monetary easing policy.

The second largest fund, Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn, which manages €178 billion of Dutch healthcare workers' retirement savings, reported a healthy 9.3% investment return during the first three months of the year. Despite this, its funding level fell from 108% to 104% as its liabilities grew.