New reform passed by the House reintroduces pension bonus in Belgium
Belgian minister of pensions, Karine Lalieux's (PS) had her long-awaited pension reform bill passed by the House on Thursday evening. The reform includes the reintroduction of the pension bonus.
The new system will come into effect definitively from January 1, 2025. From that date, anyone who works extra hours - even if it is only one day - will receive the pension bonus. In contrast to previous plans, this reform introduces a pension bonus, a one-off payment that can amount to more than 22,000 euros for those who work three years longer after retirement age.
The federal government had reached an agreement on pension reform in 2022 and 2023, but a report from the Planning Bureau showed that the plans would further increase the ageing bill. Moreover, the European Commission urged a broader reform to guarantee that Belgium would not miss out on hundreds of millions in recovery money.
"We said it. We did it ! Pension reform passed in Parliament"
The government has agreed that the equalisation of civil servants' pensions may increase by a maximum of 0.3 per cent of the total amount that goes to pensions. The lowest civil servants will still be fully charged for the equalisation.
From 2028, the rate of the Wijninckx contribution, the special social security contribution on supplementary pensions in the private sector, will increase from 3 to 6 per cent.
According to the government, the new exercise will save 0.5 per cent of gross domestic product by 2070, which amounts to 3 billion euros. However, according to the Ageing Commission, the cost of ageing will reach a peak of 4.4 per cent of GDP by 2050.
Minister of pensions, Karine Lalieux. Photo ©BELGA PHOTO JASPER JACOBS
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