Belgium's Pensions Minister Karine Lalieux (PS) has proposed that people who continue to work beyond the age of early retirement should be awarded a one-off pension payment of up to €22,650.
The proposal, which was first reported by Le Soir, means that Belgians who remain in full-time employment after 42 years of work – and who are thus eligible for early retirement – will be paid an additional €7,550 per year on a pro rata basis for up to three years. The total sum will then be paid out when the individual finally retires.
In an interview with RTBF, Lalieux claimed that her "balanced reform" will be approved by the European Commission, which is currently locked in a long-running dispute with Belgium over the latter's alleged fiscal profligacy.
"Spain has done this type of reform," she said. "It has been validated by the European Commission. It encourages many more people to work a little longer because they have the abilities."
Lalieux also argued that her proposal will actually "reduce the cost of bonuses and pensions", as "more people will stay at work, will contribute and will not take their pension so soon".
"It is important to value work," she added.
'We must protect women'
Among the other proposals put forward by Lalieux is a plan to allow those with "mixed careers" – i.e. people who frequently change professions – to gain access to the Belgian State's full minimum pension scheme after 30 years' employment.
"Today, when you have mixed careers, when you are a civil servant, then self-employed, then employed, it is difficult to have access to the minimum pension because we do not calculate all the years of career," she said. "Here, the goal is to calculate all the career years regardless of your status. Everyone will be able to have access to this minimum pension after 30 years of [any] career."
Lalieux also proposed that any time off taken by women to care for their children should be counted towards their pension.
"We must protect women as part of access to the minimum pension," she said. "All the holidays that are associated with the arrival of a child [e.g. maternity leave, adoption leave, or breastfeeding leave] must be considered as effective work. I want to reduce inequalities between men and women."
An apposite proposal
Lalieux's plan comes an especially appropriate time. On Wednesday, l'Echo reported that Belgium could lose €300 million in EU aid unless it commits to a widespread reform of its current pension system.
The money, which is part of a broader €4.5 billion package earmarked for Belgium from the EU's Covid-19 Recovery Fund, is currently being held up due to EU concerns over Belgium's growing fiscal deficit and high levels of government debt.
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"In the short term, a sanction of around €30 million is indeed possible," said Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem (CD&V). "However, if we have not implemented a pension reform by the target date of the end of June 2024, this penalty could amount to more than €300 million."
He added: "The impact of ageing on our budget in the coming decades makes structural reform of our pension system necessary."
