Jelle van den Elsen is a Software Developer at IBM Weert and a true Limburger. He has been taking parental leave for four hours a week since January 2020. Unpaid, and he enjoys doing so.
Jelle always worked full-time, and so now he works 36 instead of 40 hours a week. He devotes those 4 extra hours of free time entirely to his 5-year-old daughter Lotte. Recently – in the midst of the corona crisis – he extended his unpaid parental leave for another year.
‘In 2015, I became a father. My wife Desirée works in childcare, but less hours per week than I do. Therefore, much of Lotte’s parenting came down to her. Last year, Lotte went to elementary school. I thought that was a great time to further build my bond with her. It’s just good that I’m with her more often now.
I am now free every Wednesday afternoon, as is my daughter. I pick her up from school at noon. She really looks forward to that, and so do I! My wife is also very happy about it; she can now work carefree on Wednesdays.”
I now feel much more like I’m watching my daughter grow up
‘I really notice that my bond with her has grown a lot in a year and a half. In that respect, parental leave works perfectly. At least it does for me. Not that we do anything spectacular. We go to the playground or visit friends who also have young children. And sometimes it’s also just fine to stay at home. Watch a movie or play games together.
I really see my daughter growing up now; I had that feeling much less before. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Of course, you do have to give up something. After all, working less means automatically earning less. I knew that in advance.
Because of corona, everything is totally different. Especially now that the schools are closed
‘Lotte has a delay in her speech and language development. That’s why she goes to a language class on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings where she gets speech therapy. Fortunately, those classes continue as usual, despite all the coronama measures. Other parts of the day she is at home, because the elementary school is closed at this moment (end of January – ed.). So Lotte is home more than usual. And so am I. The nice thing about the current situation is that we teach her at home. That works well for Lotte. You can really see her progress and that’s great to see! Of course, the current situation is a bit strange. But Wednesday afternoons are still meant for parental leave. That fortunately won’t change.”
You’re going to accrue a little less pension. I’m happy to do that
‘Because I work fewer hours per week – and therefore earn less – I also accrue slightly less pension capital per year. I participate in SPIN’s DC plan. I receive a monthly premium from IBM, which is invested for me. That premium is a percentage of my salary. Now that my salary is a little lower, I also get a little less premium for my pension. Sounds logical, yet I didn’t think about it right away at first.
Fortunately, the people at SPIN explained this to me very well. It was clear to me very quickly. I can make additional contributions to my pension myself, I know. Or save for my pension in another way. But for now, I’m okay with that. I don’t want to be creamier than the Pope, you also live now.
I can really do my thing as a software developer
‘I don’t think the fact that I am now working 10% less has had any impact on my career at IBM. I started as a software developer in October 2002, at a small company called Temtec. As a result of several takeovers, I have now been a real IBM employee for about 12 years. And that’s how I feel. I now do what I like doing best. As a software developer, I can really do my thing. I don’t necessarily need to grow into another position. I do want to keep getting better and better as a software developer. That is my growth objective!
Are you also considering taking parental leave, or working less for other reasons?
Log in to the updated MySPIN and let the Pension Planner calculate what working less will mean for your pension. There you will also find the options for making additional contributions.