On Thursday evening, the House gave the green light to the long-awaited pension reform of Pensions Minister Karine Lalieux (PS). This includes the reintroduction of the pension bonus.
The federal government reached an agreement on pension reform in the summer of 2023 after overnight negotiations. This also happened in 2022, but a report from the Planning Bureau showed that the plans would further increase the aging bill. Moreover, the European Commission urged a broader reform, otherwise Belgium could miss out on hundreds of millions in recovery money.
The new reform reintroduces a pension bonus. In contrast to previous plans, this will be paid out net and not gross. The one-off payment can amount to more than 22,000 euros for those who work three years longer.
In addition, the ‘equation’ of civil servants’ pensions – which therefore increase with the salaries of active civil servants, on top of the index – is limited to 0.3 percent per year of the total civil servants’ pension.
The rate of the Wijninckx contribution, the special social security contribution on supplementary pensions in the private sector, will be increased from 3 to 6 percent from 2028.
Minimum pension
The fact that for the first time a minimum number of years must be worked to gain access to the minimum pension is retained from the previous pension agreement. It concerns 20 years of effective career. To take into account the difference between men and women, equated periods such as maternity leave, paternity leave or temporary unemployment are equated.
According to the government, the new exercise will result in savings of 0.5 percent of gross domestic product by 2070, which amounts to 3 billion euros. However, according to the Aging Commission, the cost of aging will reach a peak of 4.4 percent of GDP by 2050.
