From July 1employees, self-employed and civil servants Belgian can begin to build their bonus pension. Thanks to this system put in place as part of the recent pension reform, workers who choose to extend their activity beyond the legal retirement age will be rewarded.
With a particularly high rate of early retirement, the government has decided to respond by offering financial compensation to all workers opting for a prolonged activity maintenanceas decided during the last pension reform, called the pension bonus.
When to retire?
To find out the date from which it is possible to take early retirement, simply consult the Mypension.be website. This date is crucial because it is from then on that the pension bonus premiums can begin to be accumulated. From July 1, employees and self-employed people can obtain this information by consulting the “My pension bonus” tab on the Mypension.be website. For civil servants, this information will be accessible from September.
Concerning how the pension bonus works, it is very simple: each day worked during the three years following the date on which the worker can take his pension contributes to the constitution of the bonus. If a worker chooses to work for the entire pension bonus accrual period (three years), he or she can accumulate up to 23 565 euros nets (33,975 euros for long careers).
It is important to note that workers are not required to work three years to benefit from the pension bonus; each day worked beyond the legal retirement age is taken into account in the constitution of this benefit. In addition, it is also important to remember that this bonus is not taxable for everyone future pensioners residing in Belgium.
How will the pension bonus be paid?
Concerning payment of the pension bonusthe worker has the choice: he can opt for a single payment in the form of capital or choose monthly payments. In the event of death before the payment of the pension bonus, his heirs will receive it in a single payment if it is chosen in the form of capital.
On the other hand, for monthly payments, the heirs will not receive the remaining payments in the event of the death of the beneficiary. Finally, if a worker dies before taking their pension, their heirs will not benefit from the pension bonus.
