The increase in the legal retirement age to 66 has meant that 22,000 fewer people retired during the first 5 months of this year than was the case during the first 5 months of 2024. According to figures from the Federal Pension Service that appear in an article in the financial daily ‘De Tijd’, this meant that 100 million euro less has been spent on pensions that would have been the case if the legal retirement age had stayed at 65.
100 million euro already saved as a result of the raising of the retirement age to 66
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At the start of the year the legal retirement age in Belgium was raised from 65 to 66. The decision to raise the retirement age from 1 January 2025 was taken in 2014 by the then Federal Government. At the start of 2030 the retirement age will be raised again to 67. The last people in Belgium to have reached the legal retirement age at 65 celebrated their 65th birthday in December 2024. They were able to retire on 1 January 2025. Those that celebrated their 65th birthday in January 2025 will have to wait until 1 February 2026 before they have reached retirement age.
The changes are reflected in the sharp fall in the number of people that are retiring. Between 1 February and 30 April 60% fewer people retired than was the case between 1 February and 30 April last year. During the 5 months following the retirement age having been raised 22,000 fewer people retired than during the same period last year.
Vik Beullens of the Federal Pension Service says that is we presume that an average state pension is 1,850 euro this constitutes a cumulative saving of 100 million euro between 1 February and 31 May.