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The defined benefit scheme – whereby the employer promises the employee a specified payment upon retirement, the amount of which is calculated based on several factors including the years the contributor has been in the scheme, their age, and their salary at retirement – is no longer viable in today’s world.

Recently, the high-profile collapse of the construction firm Carillion has served as yet another example of why this is the case.

The collapse means that, just like in the heavily reported case of retail giant BHS, thousands of employees are likely to have their carefully laid out retirement plans affected. Now that the company has gone into liquidation, it cannot afford to pay employees their expected pension amount, leading to yet another sizeable pensions black hole with a deficit of around £580 million (although the BBC reports that the final figure could be as high as £900 million).

Expat financial advisers in the Netherlands discuss many things with their clients – from the best way to structure expat regular savings to pension transfers and inheritance planning.

However, for certain expat parents and grandparents living in the Netherlands education fee planning is integral to the realisation of their wider goals. And why shouldn’t it be, university degrees are among the most important and expensive investments you can make in a young person’s future.

This is why a recent decision by the Amsterdam District Court should be welcomed by the clients of many expat financial advisers in the Netherlands as it could lead to their education fee burden being reduced dramatically.