The Belgian pension reform has been passed. The federal government has finalised its pension reform, and the new Pensions Act was passed by Parliament at the end of May 2026 and published in the Belgian Official Gazette. Through the Belgian pension reform, the government aims to encourage people to remain in the labour market for longer and to ensure the financial sustainability of the pension system. Most of the measures will come into force from 2027, but some provisions are already affecting future pension calculations.
For employees, the self-employed and civil servants, the stricter conditions for early retirement, the introduction of a pension penalty and a new pension bonus are of particular significance. Furthermore, certain periods during which no work was carried out will be taken into account less favourably when calculating pensions.
Stricter conditions for early retirement
It is still possible to retire early, but from 2027 stricter and more clearly defined conditions will apply. The statutory retirement age remains unchanged at 66 and will rise to 67 from 2030. Anyone wishing to retire early must meet stricter criteria relating to their working history.
A key aspect of the Belgian pension reform is the tightening of the so-called ‘day requirement’. From 2027, a calendar year will only count as a year of employment if it includes at least 156 days of work or equivalent. At present, 104 days are still sufficient. As a result of this change, some employees, self-employed people and civil servants may lose one or more years of service towards their entitlement to early retirement.
For employees working part-time, those with interrupted careers or those who have spent long periods out of work, this may mean that they will have to retire later than originally expected.
Early retirement from the age of 60 for those with a long working life
Alongside these stricter rules, there will also be a new, exceptional provision for people with a very long and effective working life. From 2027, it will be possible to retire as early as the age of 60, provided one can demonstrate at least 42 years of employment, during each of which at least 234 days of actual work were completed per year.
Under this scheme, the periods actually worked will be scrutinised much more strictly. Many equivalent periods, such as sick leave or carer’s leave, will not be taken into account here, or only to a limited extent. With this measure, the government aims above all to accommodate people who started working at a young age and have remained very active throughout their working lives.
Pension penalty for early retirement
One of the most hotly debated aspects of the Belgian pension reform is the introduction of a pension penalty. Anyone who retires early from 2027 onwards without having accumulated a sufficient effective period of employment during their working life risks a permanent reduction in their pension payments.
The pension penalty applies to people who, whilst meeting the age and career requirements for early retirement, cannot demonstrate that they have worked a sufficient number of days over the course of their working life. In such cases, the pension amount will be reduced for each year by which the person retires early. The younger a person is at the time of retirement and the shorter their actual working life, the more severe the financial consequences may be.
With this measure, the government aims to prevent people from leaving the labour market prematurely without having an sufficiently long effective working life. In particular, people who have received unemployment benefit, taken advantage of career transition schemes or other equivalent arrangements over a prolonged period may consequently have to expect a lower pension.
New pension bonus for working longer
At the same time as the pension penalty is introduced, a new pension bonus will also be introduced. This measure is intended to make continuing to work after reaching retirement age more financially attractive and is deliberately designed to counterbalance the pension penalty.
Employees and the self-employed who choose to defer their retirement and remain in employment after reaching the statutory retirement age can accrue additional pension entitlements. The accrual of the new pension bonus will begin in 2026 and will apply to pensions that come into effect from 2027 onwards.
This pension bonus is calculated on the basis of the actual hours worked after reaching the statutory retirement age. The longer a person continues to work and the more consistently they remain in employment, the greater the benefit in terms of their final pension amount. The government’s main aim is to encourage people to remain in the labour market for longer.
It is important to note that the new pension bonus replaces the previous bonus scheme. Entitlements already accrued under the old scheme will be retained. New bonus entitlements can only be accrued under the new rules.
In practice, this means that continuing to work for longer not only helps to avoid a pension penalty but can also lead to a permanently higher pension. For employees and the self-employed who are torn between leaving the labour market and continuing to work, the new pension bonus may therefore become a decisive factor.
Less favourable treatment of certain periods of inactivity
The Belgian pension reform also changes the way in which certain periods of inactivity are taken into account when calculating pensions. In particular, periods during which no actual work was carried out will be treated less favourably in future.
Specifically, this includes, amongst other things, periods of (involuntary) unemployment, unemployment with a company allowance (SWT), as well as end-of-career arrangements such as ‘transitional jobs’ or time credits at the end of a career. Although these periods will continue to be taken into account, they will no longer be calculated on the basis of previous earnings when determining the pension. Instead, a capped notional earnings figure will be used, which may result in lower pension accrual.
Other periods of interruption to employment, such as sickness, maternity leave, parental leave and certain types of care leave, will continue to be treated on an equal footing and will still be calculated on the basis of the standard notional earnings.
With this adjustment, the government is placing greater emphasis on periods actually worked. In particular, employees who have received unemployment benefits or taken early retirement over a prolonged period may consequently see a lower pension entitlement.
Additional measure: Cent index and indexation of higher pensions
The so-called ‘cent index’ is also part of the Belgian pension reform. From July 2025, higher state pensions will no longer be fully indexed if they exceed the reference index. Indexation will be capped for the portion of the pension that exceeds a certain threshold. The federal government aims to curb rising pension expenditure in this way.
For pensioners with a low or average pension, little will generally change. The measure primarily affects those with a higher state pension. As a result of the limited indexation, the purchasing power of this group may rise less sharply in the long term than under the old system.
This change applies to pensions already in payment and is unrelated to the new regulations on early retirement, the pension penalty and the pension bonus. This makes the cent index one of the few components of the Belgian pension reform that also affects current pensioners.
What is changing for the self-employed?
The self-employed are also affected by a number of important changes. They can take advantage of the new option to retire from the age of 60, provided they have a sufficiently long working career. Furthermore, the new pension penalty also applies to them if they take early retirement without having a sufficiently long effective working life.
Impact on cross-border workers
For cross-border workers, the European rules on the accrual of pension entitlements remain unchanged. Anyone who has worked in several Member States during their working life retains the right to combine pension entitlements from the various countries.
However, the Belgian pension reform may affect the Belgian part of the pension. For example, the stricter conditions for early retirement, the pension penalty and the revised calculation rules may influence when someone can retire and the final amount of their pension.
For cross-border workers who have worked in both Belgium and the Netherlands or Germany, it is therefore advisable to check in good time what impact the reform will have on their personal situation.
Further information
Due to the Belgian pension reform, the calculations on the pension portal mypension.be also need to be adjusted. As a result, certain simulations and pension estimates are temporarily unavailable or are being updated in stages.