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New Theme Grants Awarded by Netspar and Instituut Gak

6 November 2025

Netspar and Instituut Gak have awarded three new theme grants. These grants will fund innovative research in the field of pensions and aging. Each grant amounts to €350,000 per research project. Each research project will last for a period of three to four years.

The theme grants were awarded after scientific review by the Scientific Council and advice from the Partner Research Council. It concerns the research of:

Muhammet Ikbal Sahan: pension choices and aging (awarded and funded by Instituut Gak)

Muhammet Ikbal Sahan of Erasmus University Rotterdam will receive a theme grant for his research entitled Decision-making in the aging brain: challenges and AI-driven solutions for pension planning. Sahan will investigate how aging influences pension choices and how AI can support this process. The research should lead to insights and AI-driven solutions for better pension choices among older people.

Egbert Jongen: employers and older employees (awarded and funded by Instituut Gak)

Egbert Jongen of Leiden University has received a theme grant for his research project Causes and consequences of retirement: the role of employers. He will examine the influence of employer policy and health on older employees and their labor participation. The results should help employers and policymakers to stimulate labor participation among older people.

Lieke Beekers and Marike Knoef: reducing the gender pension gap (awarded and funded by Netspar)

Lieke Beekers of Leiden University and Marike Knoef of Tilburg University have received a thematic grant for their research project entitled Mind the pension gap: gender inequality and the power of smart policy. They will focus on the causes of the gender pension gap and effective policy options to reduce it. The research should contribute to policy development aimed at reducing the gender pension gap in the Netherlands.

Netspar congratulates the researchers on this grant and looks forward to the contribution this research will make to a future-proof pension system. The intended start date for most projects is January 1, 2026.