Senior officers in the Belgian army are highly critical of the plans that are on the table at the federal coalition talks to raise the retirement age of soldiers and other military personnel from 56 to 67. If approved the changes would come into force from next year. The army chiefs’ concerns are contained in an internal report by the Ministry of Defence that has been seen by VRT NWS. Those at the head of the Belgian military fear that raising the retirement age will have a negative impact on ongoing operations.
The 9-page internal document was handed over to the negotiators involved in the federal coalition talks. Chief of Staff General Frederik Vansina writes that “The military understands society’s expectations”. However, General Vansina (photo below) concludes that the current proposals regarding the raising of the retirement age in the army will “dramatically” counteract the process of rejuvenation and reorganisation of the Belgian military.
The document states that as the big wave of retirements in the army is already over, the measure would actually come too late. Only around 300 military personnel per year would be affected. Furthermore, as older soldiers are statistically more likely to be ill there would be more soldiers off on sick leave if the retirement age were increased.
Making soldiers carry on working for longer would also prove expensive. Chief of Staff Vansina writes that “The measure will cost an additional 2 billion euro net.” The reason why it would cost more is because older military personnel have the greatest length of service and are therefore paid more than new recruits and younger soldiers with less years of services under their belts.
Military chiefs expect “major protest” from the unions that represent military personel, demotivation and a “considerable demobilisation” if the retirement age is raised. They have asked negotiators not to put any specific measures to this end into the coalition agreement. Instead, they propose the drafting of a new statute for military and civilian staff that work for the country’s armed forces.
In a letter to members of the armed forces distributed by the liberal public sector union VSOA on Tuesday morning General Vansina writes that he understands their concerns. “To cope with the uncertainties associated with our missions, defence needs stability and the commitment of its employees to be stronger and meet the challenges”.
“We must therefore avoid creating uncertainty and dissatisfaction by changing the pension system without taking into account the specificities of the military and our profession, as well as the potentially damaging effects on the repositioning and operational capability of the armed services”.
The army chief says that he and his staff have been warning those involved in the negotiations for weeks about the possible consequences of the proposed measure. He has already met with the unions several times “to exchange views and find solutions together”. “We prefer to consult with each other at regular intervals while maintaining the necessary discretion rather than making statements to the press”, Chief of Staff Vansina said.