Regularization of study periods

You can buy off your study years to have them taken into account for the calculation of your pension. How much more you will receive, depends on your situation.

Please note: the periods you buy off, are only taken into account for the calculation of your pension amount, and not for possible early retirement.

You regularized study years as an aircrew member before 28.11.2011? In that case, another rule applies. Find out more under 'Buying off study periods does not mean you can retire earlier'.

If you are currently working as a self-employed worker, you can buy off your study years in the scheme for self-employed workers. Find out more about buying off study periods on the NISSE website.Opens in a new window

Check mypension.be to find out what influence buying off your study years has on your pension amountOpens in a new window

Which study periods can I buy off?

• The full period for which you obtained a degree. Study years you repeated, are not taken into account.
• Two years of the period in which you prepared your PhD. If obtaining your PhD took longer, these extra years are not taken into account.
• Periods of work placement that earned you your professional qualifications.

Find out more about the years you can buy off.

How much does buying off my study years cost?

• You are an employee:
  • you pay the lump sum of 1 979,25 EUR per period of 12 months (from 01.09.2026 at the index figure 186,83) if you buy off the study periods within 10 years after obtaining your degree. After this period, we carry out an actuarial calculation.
     
• You are a civil servant:
  • in the past, your study years were taken into account for free, if your degree was required to be established or promoted.
  • if your earliest possible start date falls on or before 01.12.2018 and you were established on 01.12.2017 at the latest, your study years are still taken into account for free.
  • if your earliest possible start date falls after 01.12.2018 and you were established on 01.12.2017 at the latest, only that part of the diploma indemnification you had obtained on 01.12.2017 is still taken into account for free.
  • for the remaining part, you pay the lump sum of 1 979,25 EUR per period of 12 months (from 01.09.2026 at the index figure 2,2080) if you apply to buy it off within 10 years after having obtained your last degree. After this period, we carry out an actuarial calculation. It is therefore extremely important that you always inform us about your last obtained degree.

Find out more about how much one has to pay to buy off study years
 

How much does buying off my study years yield?

• You are an employee

  Every study period you buy off, increases your gross pension amount.
  Example: you apply to buy off a study period of 12 months in October 2026 and you do eventually buy this period off in the scheme for employees. This will yield (from 01.09.2026 at the index figure 186,83) an extra gross pension amount of:

  • 351,86 EUR gross a year at the amount as a single person;
  • 439,83 EUR gross a year at the household rate.

  The net amount depends on several tax elements. We add this amount to the global calculation of your pension. It is therefore possible that buying off your study years yields a limited or no additional pension.
   

• You are a civil servant

  The amount depends on your reference pay. In principle, a bought-off study year annually yields 1/60th of the reference pay. In some cases, it is therefore possible that buying off study years yields a limited or no additional pension.

Find out more about the amount yielded by buying off study years.
 

How can I buy off my study periods (procedure)?

• Online through mypension.beOpens in a new window.
• Or in writing.

What is the procedure for buying off my study periods?

• Which study periods can I buy off?
  • Permitted periods
  • How many study periods can I buy off?
  • Do I have to buy off everything or can I buy off a portion?
  • Degrees I cannot buy off
  • In which scheme should I apply?
  • Buy-off acquired in the scheme in which it was performed
  • No buy-off in several schemes simultaneously
    
    
• How much is it?
  • The application is filed later than 10 years after having obtained the degree
  • The application is filed within 10 years after having obtained the degree
  • Civil servant: diploma indemnification free?
    
    
• How much does buying off my study years yield?
  • Buying off study periods does not mean you can retire earlier
  • Buying off study periods does not always lead to a higher pension amount
  • Influence on the survivor's pension and transitional allowance
    
    
• How can I buy off my study periods?
  • Who can apply and when?
  • Procedure
  • Payment methods
  • Tax-deductible
  • Can the contribution be paid back?
    
    

Which study periods can I buy off?

• Permitted periods
• How many study years can I buy off?
• Do I have to buy off everything or can I buy off a portion?
• Which study years can't I buy off?
• In which scheme should I apply?
• Buy-off acquired in the scheme in which it was performed
• No buy-off in several schemes simultaneously
  
  

Permitted periods

You can buy off the following study periods:

• your full periods of a year of university and non-university higher education and higher technical, vocational, maritime and art education in full-time education:
  1. that comprise a full grade
     and
  2. for which you have obtained a degree.
     
     
• your study periods in which you prepared your PhD thesis, on the condition that you obtained this PhD.
  
  
• your professional internship, if the following three conditions are met:
  1. obtaining a degree was a prerequisite for the internship
  2. after the internship, you obtained a legally recognized professional qualification
  3. the internship is not taken into account for the calculation of a pension in a Belgian or foreign social security scheme. If, for example, you received a remuneration during the internship, you cannot buy off this internship. This is among other things the case if you are a doctor and you took an internship to become a specialist.
     
     
• your periods from the year of your 18th birthday onwards in which you had an apprenticeship and that are not taken into account for the calculation of a pension in a Belgian or foreign social security scheme.
  
  
• your full periods of a year in which you were in secondary education following the 6th year of secondary education.
  
  

Which types of degrees are accepted?

• Degrees of full-time higher education (studies completed after the complete secondary education or therewith equated education):
  1. university or non-university higher education;
  2. higher technical, vocational, maritime and art education.
     
     
• The degrees, certificates or equivalent titles that were obtained:
  • at the end of an apprenticeship;
  • after the years of secondary education following the 6th year of secondary education ('Secondary-after-Secondary', mainly in technical or artistic education).
    
    
• Foreign degrees or certificates or equivalent titles, on the condition that the equivalence has been recognised by the competent Belgian government. You can apply for equivalence by means of the Flemish support toolOpens in a new window
  
  

How many study years can I buy off?

The number of years you can buy off, depends on the type of periods.

• For higher education:
  • the minimum number of study years necessary to obtain the degree. This means that if you had to repeat one or more study years, you cannot buy these years off.

    Example: Frans has obtained a Master's degree in Law. The minimum number of years needed to obtain this degree, is five. He had to repeat the 1st year and thus took six years to obtain the degree. He can buy off five years at most and not the six years he actually needed for his studies.

    Example: Charlotte has a Master's degree in actuarial science. For this Master's course, she first needed to obtain a Master's degree in Maths, as well as a Bachelor's degree, as required for every Master's course.

    She can therefore buy off a total of five study years:

    • her Bachelor's degree (3 years)
    • her Master's degree in Maths (1 year)
    • her Master's degree in actuarial science (1 year). Study years for a single degree. 'A single degree', however, means the final degree and all preceding degrees (after secondary education) that were needed to obtain that final degree.
      
      
  • you can buy off two years at most for study periods needed to prepare a PhD thesis, even if:
    • the legal minimum duration to obtain the PhD exceeds this;
    • you in reality took longer than two years to prepare your PhD.
      
      
  • Example: after having worked on her thesis for four years, Lore obtained a PhD in Maths, after her Master's course in actuarial science. Although she spent four years on her thesis, she can only buy off two years at most for her PhD. The total number of study years that can be bought off, thus is seven:
    • three years for her Bachelor's degree
    • one year for her Master's degree in Maths
    • one year for her Master's degree in actuarial science
    • two years for her PhD
      
      
• For the professional internships, the duration you can buy off is limited to the minimum duration needed to obtain the professional qualification.
  
  
• For an apprenticeship, the duration that can be regularized is limited to one year at most.
  
  
• For the 'Secondary-after-Secondary' period, the minimum number of study years (following the 6th year of secondary education) needed to obtain the degree can be regularised.

The duration of the study periods that can be regularized, is reduced by future study periods that already have been regularized in another pension scheme.

Do I have to buy off everything or can I buy off a portion?

You can either buy off your study periods in their entirety, or merely a portion.

You can only buy off your study periods per full study year (12 months). A study year, with the exception of the PhD and the professional internship, runs from 1 September of a certain year until 31 Augustus of the following year (unless proven otherwise).

Exception for the civil service pensions: the study year of which a portion was awarded for free in pursuance to the transitional measures due to the abolition of the diploma indemnification.

Which study years can't I buy off?

• Study periods for which you did not obtain the degree, PhD or professional qualifications.
• If you have several similar degrees (or professional qualifications or PhD's), you cannot buy them all off. You have to choose.

  Example: Nicolas is jurist (Master's degree in Law) and has two additional Master's degrees, of which one in European Law (1 year) and one in Social Law (2 years). These two additional Master's degrees are equivalent.

  He can buy off the following:

  • the Bachelor's degree that precedes every Master's degree (3 years)
  • his Master's degree in Law (2 years)
  • his Master's degree in European Law (1 year) or his Master's degree in Social Law (2 years). He has to make a choice.

Depending on his choice, Nicolas can either buy off six years (including his Master's degree in European Law), or seven years (including his Master's degree in Social Law).

In which scheme should I apply?

• You have to file your application in the scheme you are working in at the time of the application.
  • You simultaneously work as an employee and as a civil servant? If so, you can choose in which scheme you will buy off your study years.
  • You simultaneously work as an employee and as a self-employed worker? If so, you have to buy off your study years in the scheme for employees.
  • You simultaneously work as a civil servant and as a self-employed worker? If so, you have to buy off your study years in the scheme for civil servants.
    
    
• The civil servant for whom the statute has ended (and who therefore no longer is an established staff member), can buy off study years:
  • either in the civil service scheme if he is no longer subject to the scheme for employees or for self-employed workers;
  • or in the scheme for employees or for self-employed workers if he worked as an employee or self-employed worker.
    
    
• Exception for temporarily tenured staff members in education and established civil servants during their internships: most of these staff members are later established, making them fall under the pension scheme for civil servants. If you fall under these exceptions, the application to buy off study periods is carried out in the civil service scheme if you:
  1. are subsequently established
     and
  2. file your application to buy off study years within ten years after having obtained your degree, PhD, professional qualifications, certificate or title.

  If you do not meet these conditions, your study periods will be bought off in the pension scheme for employees.
  
  

• If you, at the time of the application, do not fall under any Belgian social security scheme, you can still file an application, on the condition that you were insured with a Belgian social security scheme in the past. You have to file your application with the last scheme in which you worked.

  Example: after his studies, Tom successively worked as an employee and as a civil servant, and he worked abroad. If he wants to buy off his study periods and does not fall under any Belgian social security scheme at the time of the application, he has to apply with the civil service scheme, as this was the last scheme he fell under.
  
  

Buy-off acquired in the scheme in which it was performed

If you buy off your study periods in a certain scheme and subsequently you change scheme, your study periods remain acquired in the scheme in which you bought them off. Contributions cannot be transferred between schemes.

No buy-off in several schemes simultaneously

You cannot simultaneously buy off periods in several schemes and therefore cannot file two applications at the same time.

If you change scheme (for example: you were self-employed and become an employee), you can file a second application in another scheme if you have periods left which you can still buy off.

How much does buying off my study years cost?

• The application is filed later than 10 years after having obtained the degree
• Civil servant: diploma indemnification partially free?

The cost depends on the moment at which you apply in relation to the date of your last obtained degree.

The application is filed later than 10 years after having obtained the degree

You are an employee:

• The amount equals a share of the current value of your future pension retirement benefits. The calculation is made on the basis of mortality tables and an interest rate. The share varies from 50 % to 95 %, depending on the number of years that have elapsed since your graduation.
• At mypension.beOpens in a new window, you can calculate the cost.

You are a civil servant:

• The amount equals a share of the current value of your future pension retirement benefits. The calculation is made on the basis of mortality tables and an interest rate. The share varies from 50 % to 95 %, depending on the number of years that have elapsed since your graduation.
   
• Below you will find a few examples of the cost if you apply later than 10 years after having obtained your last degree:
  • Example 1 - buy-off after 13 years:

    Ruben, who was born on 13.03.1992, obtained his degree on 31.08.2010. His average wage of the last ten years amounted to 26 000 euros.

    On 01.01.2023, he will pay 5 526,30 euros for every period of 12 months.
     

  • Example 2 - buy-off after 16 years:

    Tom, who was born on 01.02.1986, obtained his degree on 31.08.2007. His average wage of the last ten years amounted to 30 400 euros.

    On 01.01.2023, he will pay 6 887,76 euros for every period of 12 months.
     

  • Example 3 - buy-off after 30 years:

    Danira, who was born on 28.03.1970, obtained her degree on 31.08.1993. Her average wage of the last ten years amounted to 40 100 euros.

    On 01.01.2023, she will pay 15 221,15 euros for every period of 12 months.
     

  • Example 4 - buy-off after 39 years:

    Roger, who was born on 27.10.1963, obtained his degree on 31.08.1984. His average wage of the last ten years amounted to 50 000 euros.

    On 01.01.2023, he will pay 26 478,67 euros for every period of 12 months.
     

  • Example 5 - buy-off after 44 years:

    Sonia, who was born on 27.01.1957, obtained her degree on 31.08.1979. His average wage of the last five years amounted to 87 600 euros.

    On 01.01.2023, she will pay 62 929,65 euros for every period of 12 months.
     

 

Civil servant: diploma indemnification partially free?

The partial preservation of the free diploma indemnification solely applies to:

• civil servants who were established or held an assimilated position on 01.12.2017 at the latest;
• persons who were judicial trainees or temporary staff members in education on 01.12.2017, if they were later established as a magistrate or in education.

The calculation of the free portion of the indemnification is made on the basis of the career as it is known to the FPS. You can consult the result of this calculation at mypension.beOpens in a new window.

Please visit mypension.beOpens in a new window to simulate your pension estimate with and without buying off your study periods.
 

How much does buying off my study years yield?

• Buying off study periods does not mean you can retire earlier
• Does the buy-off always influence the pension amount?
• Influence on the survivor's pension and transitional allowance

The pension amount resulting from the buy-off may be influenced by other career elements.

Please visit mypension.be to simulate your pension estimate with and without buying off your study periods.

 

Buying off study periods does not mean you can retire earlier

The regularized study periods are solely used to calculate the pension amount: these do influence your pension amount, but have no influence on the date of your early retirement.

Exception: if you were a civilian aircrew member and you applied for regularization (which effectively led to regularization) before 28.11.2011, these years can be taken into account for the calculation of your earliest retirement date. This only applies for years that fall before 2012 that are considered as habitual and principal in the pensions scheme for civilian aircrew members. The application for regularization was filed on or after this date? In that case, the regular rules for the study period regularization apply.

Find out more about aircrew members.
 

Buying off study periods does not always lead to a higher pension amount

Buying off study periods does not always entitle one to a higher pension amount. The regularized study periods are subject to different rules for the pension calculation.

 

Influence on the survivor's pension and transitional allowance

If you are the surviving spouse of an employee and your spouse regularized his study periods before his passing, we take these bought-off periods into account when calculating your survivor’s pension or transitional allowance.

If you are the entitled person of a deceased civil servant and you are entitled to a survivor's pension, we take the same performances and periods into account as for the calculation of the retirement pension. In this way, the free diploma indemnification of the deceased civil servant and/or the regularized study periods are also taken into account for the calculation of your survivor’s pension. The indemnification discount does not apply, however, in the case of a survivor's pension you receive as entitled person of the deceased civil servant who, at a certain time, met the conditions to retire early, at the latest on 01.12.2018.
 

How can I buy off my study periods?

• Who can apply and when?
• Procedure
• Payment methods
• Tax-deductible
• Can the contribution be paid back?
  
  

Who can apply and when?

You have to apply yourself:

• through mypension.beOpens in a new window;
• in writing:
  • Application to buy off study periods as an employee
  • Application to buy off study periods as a civil servant

You have to apply before the start date of your pension. The date of application is important because it determines the amount of the contribution and any discount (if you are a civil servant).

You may file two applications at most, regardless of the pension scheme.

Example: Carla has a degree that encompasses four study years. She can buy off her study periods in two instalments (2 x 2 years if she wants to buy off everything or 1 year + 2 years if she wants to buy off a portion, ...).

If you change statute after a 1st buy-off, you can still file one application to buy off the remainder of your study periods.

Procedure

We will investigate your application and inform you of the amount you have to pay for the study periods you mentioned in your application.

Insofar this applies, we will also inform you of the amount of the contribution that should be paid for the full period that can be regularized, taking into account the study periods mentioned in your application.

Subsequently, you have to inform us of your decision:

• either you choose to buy off and you mention the study periods you actually want to buy off;
• or you choose not to buy off any study periods (you do not return the form).

If you decide not to buy off study periods, you will not have used up one of your two applications.

We will send you a notification of your buy-off decision. Once you have received this notification, you have to pay the contribution outright within 6 months after the notification.

Payment methods

Once you have informed us which periods you will buy off, we calculate the definitive amount of your buy-off.

The contribution has to be paid:

• outright;
  and
• within 6 months after the notification.

The payment may take place after the retirement if the application was filed before the retirement, but cannot be spread.

If you do not pay within this term of 6 months, the application is definitively closed and you will have used up one of your two applications.

You can file a new application for the study periods you did not actually buy off, on the condition that you did not use up both your applications.

Tax-deductible

You will automatically receive a tax certificate stating the amount of the contribution you paid during the course of the year.

The contribution is a personal social security contribution and therefore tax deductible if you paid the contribution yourself.

To be able to deduct the contribution, you should mention the amount of the contribution in the section 1257/2257 'undeducted personal social contributions'.

Can the contribution be paid back?

No, we do not pay back correctly paid contributions.

If the payment was incorrect, however, we can in certain cases pay the contribution back. For example amounts that:

• were paid after the term of 6 months;
• were unduly paid;
• were paid for study years that cannot be bought off.