MP pension reform passes in House of Representatives

The Bureau of the House of Representatives decided on Wednesday afternoon to reform the status of MPs. Pensions will now be set to the legal maximum, Belga has learned from a well-placed source.

In early March, it was leaked that several former House presidents and top officials had been able to illegally obtain pension bonuses for years. This week, it emerged that ordinary MPs were also able to exceed the legal ceiling, by combining the Chamber pension with a pension from other activities.

The Bureau of the Chamber, the governing body in which the various political groups are represented, negotiated for more than three hours on Wednesday. It decided to reform the status of MPs "as soon as possible", limiting the pension to the legal ceiling of around 7,800 euros gross per month.

In addition, the Court of Audit has been given the green light for a broad audit into the Chamber's operations and is working with the Federal Public Service Pensions to better monitor pensions.

A few hours earlier, the Flemish Parliament agreed to change a similiar pension scheme.

^{© BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND}