The vast majority of Belgians will not have to work until they are 67, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo assured on Sunday on VTM Nieuws.
The head of the Federal Government was asked to react to a poll showing that two out of three Flemish residents do not want to work until the age of 67. According to the Grand Baromètre survey published by Ipsos, Le Soir, RTL, VTM, and Het Laatste Nieuws, the national average is 70% against. The people of Brussels are the least opposed to the measure (36% in favour), while the Walloons are the most resistant (27% in favour).
Following a decision taken under the previous legislature, the legal pension age will rise to 67 in 2030, instead of the current 65. In 2025, the legal age will already rise to 66.
But according to the prime minister, the vast majority of Belgians are not affected, as there is a difference between the legal age and the actual age. Currently, most workers take their pension, not at 65, but at 62 or 63. “What is important is the career,” the prime minister said, referring to a period of 42 or 43 years.
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According to Alexander De Croo, the age of 67 is therefore “a bit of a theoretical concept”, for those who have studied longer and therefore started working later.
About the existing “sacred cows” – such as the pension age for military personnel or SNCB drivers – the Prime Minister said that this will also have to be discussed within the framework of the pension reform that the government aims to conclude by the summer holidays. “[Retirement at] 55 or 58 years. That doesn’t make sense to me,” the Prime Minister said. “We have to move to a system that is fair.”
