Biggest pension reforms since 1945 demonstrate the power of change

The federal government approved the largest pension reforms since the establishment of Social security Social security is currently managed at the Federal level in Belgium. The most important pillars of Belgian social security are: sickness and invalidity insurance (NIDHI), pensions, unemployment insurance and child allowances. In addition, occupational illness, occupational accidents and annual holidays are dealt with at this level. Some Flemish parties have been campaigning for years for (large parts of) social security to be transferred to the Regions and Communities. social security after World War II. “The structural pension measures we are taking are absolutely necessary to hold back the ageing wave that will hit us in the coming decades,” says Deputy Prime Minister Jan Jambon (N-VA).

In the framework of these reforms, the legal age for retirement pension will be raised in two stages: to 66 years of age in 2025 and to 67 years of age in 2030. The age for early retirement will also be raised: in 2017, the age limit will become 62.5 years of age, and in 2018, it will be 63 years of age. This is for employees as well as self-employed and civil servants.

“Until now, Belgium was about the only OECD The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), established in 1961 as a result of the Marshall Plan, is a cooperation agreement between 34 countries in order to study and coordinate social and economic policy. The member countries try to solve their problems jointly and to mutually align their international policy. The organisation also collects statistical information to make comparative analyses. These OECD analyses are a valuable basis for the N-VA to test policy against itself or even to give shape to it. OECD country that still had a legal retirement age of 65,” Jambon explains. “In the Scandinavian countries, just as in our neighbouring countries, it was already at 67 or 68 years old. Even the countries around the Mediterranean Sea had taken this decision before us.”