The abolition of the pension bonus is necessary to respond to the criticisms from the European Commission, explained Pensions Minister Jan Jambon on Wednesday. By 2029, the end of this measure is set to save €476 million.
The pension bonus was intended to reward people who work beyond the age at which they could have retired. However, according to the N-VA minister, it has not been well received by the European institutions. "The European Commission did not appreciate this reform of the previous government," he said while answering questions from members of parliament.
Belgium has not yet received a sum of around €30 million from the European Recovery Fund. The country is subject to an excessive deficit procedure. The De Wever government hopes to benefit from a recovery trajectory for its finances spread over seven years rather than four. "Last month, we informed the European Commission of the replacement by a bonus-malus system. The European Commission will verify whether the implementation follows the agreed trajectory," Jambon said.
To contain the costs of an ageing population, the government wants to "re-establish" the link between pensions and the work actually performed. "The government's bonus-malus system takes the legal retirement age as a reference, as is customary internationally," he said. "The pension will be reduced for each year taken before the legal age and increased for each year it is deferred beyond the legal age, starting in 2026."
According to Jambon, the current system is a cause for Belgium's early retirement issue. "Almost everyone who reaches the earliest retirement age receives a strong financial incentive to stop working immediately."
