Legal retirement age in Belgium rises to 66

This decision was taken in 2015 by the government of then-Liberal Prime Minister Charles Michel. The recent pension reform passed in 2024, under the last legislature, maintained this timetable and provided for the establishment of an additional condition of effective work for access to the minimum pension.

People born after January 1, 1960 will therefore have to work an additional year, while those born before remain in the old regime. Workers aged 65 who have 42 years of career will be able to request an early pension, like those aged 64 and 63.

According to the latest reform, 5,000 days of actual work for full-time workers will be necessary, from January 1, to qualify for the minimum pension, which corresponds to a third of their full career.

For part-time workers, this condition will be 3,120 days. It also reaches 189 months in the case of a civil servant career and 64 quarters if the worker only has a self-employed career.

”Calculation in days worked during the career helps protect those who have a more irregular career, mainly women,” according to the government.

Maternity leave, breastfeeding leave, time credits for palliative care and medical assistance or even temporary unemployment count in particular as effective working days.

The other novelty of the reform is the pension bonus, which can be created since July 1, and is aimed at people of pensionable age but who continue to work. For each additional year of work, the worker will accumulate a bonus. This will amount to 314.58 euros per month of services actually provided during the first reference year, 629.17 euros per month the second year and, finally, 943.75 euros the third year.

In total, workers who extend their career by 3 years of work will be entitled to a total amount of 22,650 euros net. The pension bonus is accessible to employees as well as the self-employed and civil servants.

Finally, in 2025, the minimum age to be entitled to a survivor’s pension in the event of the death of a spouse increases from 49 years and 6 months to 50 years.