ING Belgium Partners with Akkuro to Streamline Pension Savings

Since 2008, ING has managed its full investment proposition for retail and private banking clients by using Akkuro, the composable banking platform developed by Topicus in the Netherlands. Today, that same technology underpins one of Belgium’s most distinctive pension savings solutions: ING’s proprietary Star Fund, a third pillar plan designed to combine attractive tax benefits with fully digital investing.

For many Belgians, saving for retirement feels unnecessarily complicated caught between strict regulations, legacy systems and paperwork. ING sets itself apart by offering Star Fund as an integrated, automated solution. Customers can open and manage their pension savings entirely online, benefit from potential annual tax reductions of up to 30% and choose among multiple investment options all within a single, seamless experience. In a market where many banks still depend on fragmented processes and manual interventions, this approach sets a new standard.

To make this possible, ING and Akkuro collaborated to address three challenges that often hold back innovation:

1. Complex regulatory requirements: from contribution ceilings to age-based tax treatment.

2. Seamless digital customer journeys: making it easy to start, transfer or adjust plans without friction.

3. End-to-end automation: every transaction, calculation and report is processed instantly and accurately.

Expanding to Belgium under local regulation

Pension savings products like ING’s Star Fund fall under Belgium’s third pillar of pension planning individual pension savings plan, which encourages individuals to build additional retirement capital on top of their statutory and occupational pensions. Within this framework, ING Star Fund is designed specifically for ING Belgium customers who wish to invest in a fiscally advantageous way. Eligible contributions can qualify for an annual tax reduction of up to 30%, subject to legal limits. As described by the Belgian government, third pillar pension plans are a cornerstone of long-term financial security. To accommodate these regulations, ING and Akkuro collaborated to translate the complex requirements such as contribution ceilings, tax treatment and product eligibility into a fully automated, integrated solution that simplifies investing in ING Star Fund while ensuring compliance with Belgian law.

End-to-end automation of pension savings

Today, all Belgian pension savings accounts at ING are managed through Akkuro. The platform handles every aspect of the pension savings process, including:

• Onboarding: Applying for a new pension savings fund, including the validation of various product conditions.

• Transfer-in: Transfer of pension savings funds from other banks.

• Choice of three different investment funds: Various investment options available for customers.

• Support for the periodic plan: Including indexation, maximum annual space, minimum and maximum deposits.

• Recording data in the BPS Register: Registration of all mutations and history of deposits, including details needed for calculations.

• Full STP-processing: Automatic processing of deposits from money to investments in the chosen fund, both free and periodic investments within the available space.

• Switching and rebalancing portfolios: Ability to switch funds and rebalance portfolios.

• Tax calculation and processing: Automatic execution of complex tax calculations (such as TELT, 1% tax, anticipated sales) in various scenarios (before/after age 60) with Akkuro’s Calculation Engine.

• Transfer-out: Transfer of pension savings fund (and BPS products) to other banks.

A practical solution for a complex product

Pension savings in Belgium involve strict tax and compliance rules. With Akkuro’s built-in calculation engine, ING can process every transaction to the correct tax treatment. This improves accuracy and reduces operational risk.

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