2025–2029 pension reform

Publication date: 29.05.2026

On this page, we distinguish between pension changes that:

• apply for everyone: employees, civil servants or self-employed workers,
• apply for employees only,
• apply for civil servants only.

In addition, we also distinguish between the measures related to the determination of the pension date, the calculation of the pension amount and finally, the pensions that are already being paid.

Questions?
Under each measure, we answer the most frequently asked questions.
Please also refer to our 'Frequently Asked Questions' section.

Impact of the reform on mypension.be

This reform changes the way in which your retirement date and your pension amount are calculated. Because of this, the mypension.be calculation programmes must be changed fundamentally.

This means that as of 8 June 2026, some details will temporarily be removed and that it may take some time before all calculations are once again made available.

Find out more about the impact the reform has on mypension.be at www.mypensionevolueert.be.

Summary of the changes:

• Pension changes for all
  • Changes that impact the pension date:
    • Early retirement conditions - from 2027
    • New option to retire from the age of 60 after a long career with many effectively worked days - from 2027
      
      
  • Changes that impact the pension amount:
    • Pension penalty for those retiring early and not meeting new work requirements - from 2027
    • Discontinuation accrual of the existing pension bonus from 31 December 2025
    • New pension bonus for those who postpone retirement until after the statutory retirement age and meet additional work requirements - accrual from 2026 for pension start date in 2027 or later
    • Periods of absence for medical reasons fully taken into account for the work requirement for the guaranteed minimum pension - from 2027
      
      
  • Changes that impact pensioners:
    • Limited indexation of higher pensions - from July 2025
    • Absolute maximum
      
      
• Pension changes for employees specifically
  • Changes that impact the pension amount:
    • Limited fictitious salary for periods of unemployment and end-of-career - periods from February 2025 for pensions starting in 2027 or later
    • Limitation of the assimilated periods of unemployment and end-of-career for the calculation of the pension amount - from 2027
    • Pension protection for progressive return to work after occupational accident or illness - from 2025
      
      
• Pension changes for civil servants specifically
  • Changes that impact the pension date:
    • Increase retirement age privileged schemes - from 2027
    • Career fraction - adjustment increase coefficient - from 2027
    • Limitation of admissibility of non-working periods - from 2027
      
      
  • Changes that impact the pension amount:
    • Extension term reference pay - from 2027
    • Limitation of admissibility of non-working periods - from 2027
    • Discontinuation of more advantageous career fractions for services performed - from 2027
      
      
  • Modification of the pension due to physical incapacity (sick pension):
    • Discontinuation of pension due to physical incapacity
      
      
  • Changes that impact pensioners:
    • Discontinuation of the biennial adaptation
      
      
• Frequently asked questions
• From the coalition agreement of 31 January 2025 to effective legislation

You are self-employed?

All information concerning the reform of the pension for self-employed workers can be found on the NISSE websiteOpens in a new window.

What changes for everyone (employees, civil servants and self-employed workers)?

Changes that impact the pension date:

• Early retirement conditions - from 2027
• New option to retire from the age of 60 after a long career with many effectively worked days - from 2027
  
  

Changes that impact the pension amount:

• Pension penalty for those retiring early and not meeting new work requirements - from 2027
• Discontinuation accrual of the existing pension bonus from 31 December 2025
• New pension bonus for those who postpone retirement until after the statutory retirement age and meet additional work requirements - accrual from 2026 for start dates in 2027 or later
• Periods of absence for medical reasons fully taken into account for the work requirement for the guaranteed minimum pension - from 2027
  
  

Changes that impact pensioners:

• Limited indexation of higher pensions (> 5 250 euro) - from July 2025
• Absolute maximum - from July 2025
• Cash index

Changes that may affect your retirement date

Early retirement conditions - from 2027

What does not change?

• The statutory retirement age.
• The career length and age required to retire early.
  
  

What does change?

The number of days you need per year to make a year count towards the career condition for early retirement:

• For the earliest possible start date from 1 January 2027, only your career years in which you have at least 156 worked or assimilated days count towards the career condition. 

As a result of this measure, you may have to retire later.

• You already meet the requirement to retire early before 2027 but are postposing your retirement? This change will not affect your retirement date.

Even if, as in this case, your earliest retirement date falls on 1 January 2027, this change does not influence your retirement date. You already meet the conditions to retire before 2027.

Are there years when you are just short of 156 days?

We can supplement these years with: 

• 5 spare days
• balance days if you worked half-time with fluctuating timetables

Spare days

Years in which a few days are missing to reach the required 156 days can be supplemented with at most 5 spare days in total.

This means we can supplement up to 5 years with 1 day or 1 year with 5 days. These spare days are automatically used in the most advantageous way.

These spare days:

• are automatically used in the most advantageous way. You cannot choose how to use them.
• are only used to meet the 156 days condition, not to obtain 104 days in your first career year
• are not used for the additional measure that enables one to retire at the age of 60 in the case of 42 career years of at least 234 worked days
• are not taken into account for the calculation of your pension amount.

Examples of spare days:

Rita will turn 63 in 2028, works part-time and will have 40 career years of 156 days, 1 career year of 153 days and 1 career year of 154 days.

To retire early at the age of 63, she needs 42 career years of 156 days each.

We use her 5 spare days as follows:

• 3 days to supplement the year containing 153 days to make it contain 156 days
• 2 days to supplement the year containing 154 days to make it contain 156 days.

Thus, she has enough career years with 156 days to retire at 63.

Raf will turn 63 in 2028 and will have 40 career years of at least 156 days, 1 career year of 152 days and 1 career year of 153 days.

We use his 5 spare days as follows:

• 4 days to supplement the year containing 152 days to make it contain 156 days
• This leaves only 1 day to supplement the year containing 153 days. This results in 154 days.

The 5 spare days are thus not enough to reach 42 career years and retire at 63.

Balance days: protective measure for half-time employment with fluctuating timetables

The government has taken a measure to protect civilians who worked half-time with fluctuating timetables and who, due to these fluctuations, narrowly fail to reach or overshoot 156 days in some years. 

How will this work in practice?

A year in which you have worked between 150 and 162 days, is considered to be half-time employment.
For every consecutive period in which you worked half-time, we will check whether we can transfer effectively worked days from the years in which you overshot 156 days to the years in which you failed to reach 156 days, to also make these count 156 days. These days are called ‘balance days’.
The balance days are used to balance out years that narrowly overshoot or fail to reach 156 days, within the same period of half-time employment.

Good to know:

• You do not have to do anything yourself. This protective measure will automatically be applied when we calculate your retirement date.
• Just like the spare days, the balance days are automatically used in the most advantageous way.
• You are entitled to this protective measure? We first use the balance days. Only then do we use the 5 spare days everyone is entitled to. 

Balance days example: 

Kris worked half-time during two periods: 

For every period, we count the number of days overshooting 156 days. We thus obtain the following result:

• 6 days in the period from 1982 up to and including 1986 (1 in 1982, 1 in 1983 and 4 in 1985) 
• 4 days in the period from 1989 up to and including 1993 (3 in 1990 and 1 in 1992)

We use these balance days to supplement the years within this period in which you fail to reach 156 days:

With the 6 balance days from the 1st period, we can: 

• supplement the year 1984 by 3 days to make it reach 156 days
• supplement the year 1986 by 3 days to make it reach 156 days 

With the 4 balance days from the 2nd period, we can: 

• supplement the year 1991 by 2 days to make it reach 156 days
• supplement the year 1989 by the remaining 2 days to make it reach 154 days

 Result:

The year 1989 is 2 balance days short of 156 days.

We will thus add 2 spare days to make it reach 156 days.

Thanks to the balance and spare days, we can take these 4 years into account for the career condition and the early retirement.

Exceptions and transitional measures:

• First career year of 104 days: if you have a career year of at least 104 days and fewer than 156 days, that year will still count towards the calculation of your earliest retirement date, provided you did not have a career year of 156 days or more before that.
  Examples:
  Ana started working full-time in September 2005 and her first career year contains 104 days.
  • Thus, the year 2005 counts towards the calculation of her earliest retirement date.

  Matthias started working in November 1995. The year 2005 contains 56 days. In 2006, he worked 132 days and from 2007 he worked full-time. For the calculation of his retirement date:

  • the year 2005 is not included because it contains fewer than 104 days.
  • the year 2006 is included because it is the first career year in which he has at least 104 days.

  Milan started working in 2000. The year 2000 contains 78 days, 2001 contains 210 days and 2002 contains 110 days. For the calculation of his retirement date:

  • the year 2000 is not included because it contains fewer than 104 days
  • the year 2001 is included because it contains more than 156 days
  • the year 2002 is not included because he already has a previous year, 2001, which contains more than 156 days.
    
    
• You already meet the requirements to retire early before 2027 but are postponing your retirement?
  • Then this change will not affect your retirement date. The pension malus does not apply to you either.
  • Please note: your pension amount may change due to different, new pension rules from 2027.
    
    
• You will meet the conditions to retire early on 1 January 2027?
  • This change will not affect your retirement date. The pension penalty does not apply to you either.
  • Please note: your pension amount may change due to different, new pension rules from 2027.
    
    
• You were born before 1966 (60 years or older in 2025) and cannot retire yet?
  If so, you will be able to retire at most one year later than was the case before the reform.
  
  
• You were born in 1966 (59 years old in 2025)?
  If so, you will be able to retire at most two years later than was the case before the reform.
  
  

Example:

Patricia was born in 1964, making her 61 years old in 2025.

She plans to retire early in 2027, i.e. when she is 63.
To do so, she must have 42 career years of at least 156 worked or assimilated days.

Patricia has at that time:

• a career of at least 40 years of at least 156 worked or assimilated days
• and 2 years of at least 115 worked or assimilated days. The 5 spare days do not suffice to supplement these years until they contain 156 days.

Under the new rules, she thus cannot retire early in 2027 because she does not have the required 42 career years of at least 156 worked or assimilated days.
She will not achieve this until 2029, at the age of 65. This is 2 years later.

But because Patricia will already be 61 in 2025, a transitional measure applies to her. This will delay her retirement age by up to one year at most instead of two years.
She can therefore retire in 2028, at the age of 64.

New option to retire from the age of 60 after a long career with many effectively worked days - from 2027

In addition to the existing conditions for early retirement, you can retire from 2027 at the age of 60 if you have at least 42 career years containing at least 234 effectively worked days each. Temporary unemployment and maternity leave (pregnancy leave and maternity leave, including breastfeeding breaks and suspension to protect your health and safety) are in this case assimilated to an effectively worked day. Other periods are not assimilated with effective employment.

Changes that may affect your pension amount

Pension penalty - from 2027

The penalty is a reduction of your gross pension amount if you retire early and do not meet the following 2 conditions:

• a career of 35 years of at least 156 worked days
  and
• 7 020 worked days in your entire career

Thus, even if you meet the career and age requirements to retire early, you can be penalised if you do not meet the 2 abovementioned conditions.

You can already retire before 2027, but you postpone your retirement until 2027 or later?

You will not be penalised.

Are there years when you are just short of 156 days?

We can supplement these years with: 

• 5 spare days
• balance days if you worked half-time with fluctuating timetables

Spare days

Years in which a few days are missing to reach the required 156 days can be supplemented with at most 5 spare days in total.

In this manner, we can:

• supplement one year in which you have 151 days with your 5 spare days.
• supplement at most 5 years in which you have 155 days with 1 day each.

These spare days are used in the most advantageous way.

Please note that these 5 spare days do not count towards the condition of 7 020 worked days in your entire career

Balance days: protective measure for half-time employment with fluctuating timetables

The government has taken a measure to protect civilians who worked half-time with fluctuating timetables and who, due to these fluctuations, narrowly fail to reach or overshoot 156 days in some years. 

How will this work in practice?

A year in which you have worked between 150 and 162 days, is considered to be half-time employment.
For every consecutive period in which you worked half-time, we will check whether we can transfer effectively worked days from the years in which you overshot 156 days to the years in which you failed to reach 156 days, to also make these count 156 days. These days are called ‘balance days’.
The balance days are used to balance out years that narrowly overshoot or fail to reach 156 days, within the same period of half-time employment.

Good to know:

• You do not have to do anything yourself. This protective measure will automatically be applied when we calculate your retirement date.
• Just like the spare days, the balance days are automatically used in the most advantageous way.
• You are entitled to this protective measure? We first use the balance days. Only then do we use the 5 spare days everyone is entitled to. 

Balance days example: 

Kris worked half-time during two periods: 

For every period, we count the number of days overshooting 156 days. We thus obtain the following result:

• 6 days in the period from 1982 up to and including 1986 (1 in 1982, 1 in 1983 and 4 in 1985) 
• 4 days in the period from 1989 up to and including 1993 (3 in 1990 and 1 in 1992)

We use these balance days to supplement the years within this period in which you fail to reach 156 days:

With the 6 balance days from the 1st period, we can: 

• supplement the year 1984 by 3 days to make it reach 156 days
• supplement the year 1986 by 3 days to make it reach 156 days 

With the 4 balance days from the 2nd period, we can: 

• supplement the year 1991 by 2 days to make it reach 156 days
• supplement the year 1989 by the remaining 2 days to make it reach 154 days

 Result:

The year 1989 is 2 balance days short of 156 days.

We will thus add 2 spare days to make it reach 156 days.

Thanks to the balance and spare days, we can take these 4 years into account for the career condition of 35 years of 156 days and thus avoid the pension penalty.

What counts as a 'worked day' for the penalty?

• Effectively worked days
• Care leave (including thematic leave, justified time credit, adoption leave, foster parent leave, etc.)
• Maternity leave (pregnancy leave and maternity leave, including breastfeeding breaks and suspension to protect your health and safety)
• Paternity leave
• Military service
• Periods of illness and disability
• Temporary unemployment (a form of unemployment in which the employee remains bound by an employment contract, e.g. technical unemployment, force majeure, etc.)
• Unemployment periods for dockworkers, fish sorters, fish unloaders, fishermen at sea and art workers
  
  

What if you do not meet both work requirements?

Your pension is reduced by a certain percentage for every year you retire before your statutory retirement age. In other words, the earlier you retire, the higher the pension penalty deducted from your pension. The percentage per year depends on your year of birth:

This reduction:

• is applied in proportion to the number of months you retire before your statutory retirement date.
• is final.

You have built up several pensions and these have different start dates?

In this case, we will investigate whether you are penalised at the start date of each separate pension. You may therefore be penalised on one pension and not on another because you did meet the conditions on the start date.

What can you do to avoid or reduce a penalty?

• If you postpone your pension until your statutory retirement date, no penalty will be deducted from your pension.
• If you are only a few years or days short of meeting both conditions, you can postpone your retirement and continue working until you meet the conditions to get no or a reduced penalty.
  Examples:
  • Hannes meets the conditions for early retirement on 01.10.2047. He has a career of 34 years of at least 156 days and 8 500 days in total. He therefore does not meet the condition of 35 years of 156 days. If he continues to work and postpones his retirement until 01.07.2048, he does meet both conditions and will not be penalised.
  • Nancy meets the conditions for early retirement on 01.03.2035. She has a career of 38 years of at least 156 days and 6 950 days in total. She therefore does not meet the 7 020 days condition. If she continues to work and postpones her retirement until 01.06.2035, she does meet both conditions and will not be penalised.
    
    

As of 31 December 2025, the 2024 - 2025 pension bonus build-up has been discontinued

As of 31 December 2025, the 2024 - 2025 pension bonus build-up has been discontinued.

This means you can no longer build up the current bonus as of 1 January 2026.

The 2024 - 2025 bonus could therefore only be built up between 1 July 2024 and 31 December 2025 if you could already retire but postponed your retirement and continued working.

Regardless of when you finally retire, you will receive the bonus you built up in a single payment.

From 2026, however, you can build up the new 2026 bonus if you meet the new conditions.

New pension bonus from 2026

A new pension bonus will be introduced with entirely new conditions. If your retirement starts in or after 2027, you can start to build up this new bonus as of 1 January 2026.

You can build up the new pension bonus if you postpone your pension until after your statutory retirement date and meet the following 3 conditions:

• You have a career of 35 years of at least 156 worked days
• You have 7 020 worked days in your entire career
• You are not receiving a pension yet.

Which assimilated days are taken into account?

• Care leave (including thematic leave, justified time credit, adoption leave, foster parent leave, etc.)
• Maternity leave (pregnancy leave and maternity leave, including breastfeeding breaks and suspension to protect your health and safety)
• Paternity leave
• Military service
• Temporary unemployment (a form of unemployment in which the employee remains bound by an employment contract, e.g. technical unemployment, force majeure, etc.)
  
  

Are you childminder born before 1 January 1972?

The childminder statute was only introduced on 1 January 2003. Only childminders born on or after 1 January 1972 would be able to meet the career requirement of 35 years at the statutory retirement age: they will turn 67 in 2039. For childminders born before 1 January 1972, the work requirement will therefore be reduced proportionally.

The new pension bonus is a percentage increase in your pension amount (and not a one-off payment on top of your pension).

For every year you postpone your pension until after your statutory retirement age, your pension increases by a certain percentage. The percentage depends on your year of birth:

Periods of absence for medical reasons fully taken into account for the work requirement for the guaranteed minimum pension - from 2027

To be entitled to the guaranteed minimum pension, you have to meet these conditions:

• The basic career condition
  and
• an additional work requirement:
  • If you were born after 1970, you must be able to prove at least 5 000 worked or assimilated days.
  • If you were born before 1970, transitional measures apply.

Until now, sick leave days counted only partially towards the work requirement for the minimum pension.

The current government agreed in its summer agreement that from 2026, periods of absence for medical reasons:

• will fully be assimilated with worked days;
• and thus will fully count towards the work requirement of 5 000 days of employment.
  
  

Indexation

Indexation 3 months after threshold index is exceeded

Temporary adjustment of indexation of higher pensions

Cash index

Adjustment of the application of indexation

Since 1 July 2025, your pension is indexed 3 months after the threshold index is exceeded.

Example: if the threshold index is exceeded in September 2025, your pension will not be indexed until December 2025.

The indexation of higher pensions is temporarily adjusted.

If the threshold index is exceeded between 1 July 2025 and 31 December 2029:

• the indexation of the highest statutory pensions is limited. This entails that:
  • if your total pension falls below 5 182,64 euros gross, your pension will be indexed at 2 %.
  • if your total pension falls between 5 182,64 and 5,250 euros gross, your pension will be indexed up to 5 286,17 euros gross at most.
  • if your total pension amounts to 5 250 euros gross or more, you will receive a flat-rate increase of 36,17 euros gross.
  
  The limits used evolve with the index.
  
  
• the absolute maximum amount will no longer be indexed.

Find out more about the indexation

Cash index

This measure limits the indexation of pensions exceeding 2,000 euros gross to 40 euros gross a month when the index is raised twice.

Find out more about the indexation

Absolute maximum

If you receive a civil service pension, or a supplementary pension from an employer who is considered to fall within the public sector, the total amount of your pensions cannot exceed the absolute maximum of 8 290 euros.

To determine whether this limit was exceeded, we only took your Belgian pensions into account.

Since 1 July 2025, we must also take foreign, international and supranational pensions into account.

Find out more about the absolute maximum

What specifically changes for employee pensions?

Changes that impact the pension amount

• Limited fictitious salary for periods of unemployment and end-of-career from 1 February 2025
• Limitation of the assimilated periods of unemployment and end-of-career for the calculation of the pension amount - from 2027
• Pension protection for progressive return to work after occupational accident or illness
  
  

Limited fictitious salary for periods of unemployment and end-of-career from 1.2.2025

For all assimilated periods that are taken into account for the calculation of the pension amount, we use a fictitious salary.

From 1 February 2025, for pensions starting in 2027 or later, the fictitious salary for assimilated periods of unemployment and end-of-career will be limited to the minimum wage ceiling. As a result, these periods will yield a lower pension amount.

Exceptions and transitional measures:

• The following periods continue to be calculated on the basis of the fictitious salary:
  • Temporary unemployment (a form of unemployment in which the employee remains bound by an employment contract, e.g. technical unemployment, force majeure, etc.),
  • Occasional unemployment for dockworkers, fish sorters, fish unloaders, fishermen at sea,
  • Occasional unemployment for art workers,
  • Landing jobs (part-time work for people nearing the end of their careers), provided you retire at the statutory retirement age or later.
• For landing jobs or USS (unemployment with company supplement scheme) that started or were applied for before 1 February 2025, nothing changes. Read more about the impact on your employees' pension. 
  
  

Limitation of the assimilated periods of unemployment and end-of-career for the calculation of the pension amount

From 1 January 2027, periods of unemployment and end-of-career can count for up to 40 % of your career when calculating your employee pension.

This 40 % limit decreases by 5 percentage points each year to 20 % from 2031, as is already the case today for civil servants.

Important: Periods of sickness and care leave do not count towards this limitation and therefore continue to fully count towards your pension amount.

Pension protection for progressive return to work after occupational accident or illness from 2025

If you progressively resume work after a temporary inability to work due to an occupational accident or illness, additional protection is provided to avoid negative consequences for the determination of your retirement date and final pension amount.

This measure will ensure that progressively returning to work pays off for your later retirement.

Concretely:
If you gradually resume work, your actual earnings may be lower than before the occupational accident or illness because you build up a lower holiday allowance, year-end bonus, etc. To avoid that returning to work would result in a lower pension, we replace your actual earnings with a more advantageous fictitious salary. In this way, you will not suffer any disadvantage if you gradually resume work after an inability to work.

Important: this protection measure is applied only if you return to work with the consent of the medical advisor to the insurance company or the Fedris doctor.

What specifically changes for civil service pensions?

Some measures only apply to specific groups of civil servants. In the coming weeks, we will further complete this page and provide more details.

Changes that impact the pension date:

• Increase retirement age privileged schemes - from 2027
• Career fraction - adjustment increase coefficient - from 2027
• Limitation of admissibility of non-working periods - from 2027

Changes that impact the pension amount:

• Extension term reference pay - from 2027
• Limitation of admissibility of non-working periods - from 2027
• Discontinuation of more advantageous career fractions for services performed - from 2027

Modification of the pension due to physical incapacity (sick pension):

• Discontinuation of pension due to physical incapacity

Changes that impact pensioners:

• Discontinuation of the biennial adaptation
  
  

Changes that may affect your retirement date

Increase retirement age privileged schemes - from 2027

Soldiers

From 1 February 2027, ex officio retirement following the 56^th birthday will be phased out for soldiers with a grade lower than that of Major General or lieutenant-general.

This phasing out will be carried out gradually, according to the year of birth.

Different age limits apply to soldiers with a grade of Major General or lieutenant-general.

If you are serving in the military on or after 1 January 2027, the two-year time indemnification will count towards meeting the general age and career requirements for early retirement.

The two-year time indemnification does not entitle one to a deferred pension.

HR Rail

Until 2027, early retirement at HR Rail is possible for rolling personnel upon request.

The current retirement age is:

• 55 years if you have worked as a member of the rolling personnel for at least 30 years,
• 60 years minus one month per semester you have worked as a member of the rolling personnel provided you prove at least 30 career years with HR Rail.

From 1 February 2027, the current scheme will be phased out:

Adjustment of privileged career fractions and increase coefficient - from 2027

All privileged career fractions raised to 1/60

Today, some civil servants have more advantageous career fractions for the calculation of their pensions. If you are entitled to a more advantageous career fraction (1/55, 1/50, 1/48, etc.), we multiply your actual career by the current increase coefficient 1,05.

From 2027, all advantageous career fractions will be replaced by 1/60 and the increase coefficients will be reduced to 1.

Exceptions:

• Education staff, excluding higher education
  If you work in education, your increase coefficient will annually be reduced by 0,005 from 2027 until it reaches 1,025 in 2031. You therefore retain an advantage for the calculation of your earliest retirement date. This exception does not apply to higher education staff.
  
  
• Active services, fire brigade and police
  If you perform active services (including postmen, customs officers, pilots, air traffic controllers, etc.) or if you work as a firefighter participating directly in firefighting or as an operational police executive, your increase coefficient will annually be reduced by 0,005 from 2027 until it reaches 1,025 in 2031. You therefore retain an advantage for the calculation of your earliest retirement date.
  
  

Example:

• An has worked her entire career as a primary school teacher. Her earliest possible start date is later than 2031.
  • For the services she performs up to and including 2026, the advantageous career fraction 1/55 continues to apply for the calculation of her pension amount.
    For services from 1 January 2027, the standard career faction 1/60 applies for the calculation of her pension amount.
  • For all her services, before and after 1 January 2027, the same increase coefficient of 1,025 will apply.
    Thus, each full year as a teacher counts as 12,30 months instead of 12 months for the calculation of her pension’s earliest possible start date.
    
    
• Jan has worked his entire career as a lecturer in higher education. His earliest possible start date is later than 2031.
  • For the services he performs up to and including 2026, the career fraction 1/48 continues to apply for the calculation of his pension amount.
    For services from 1 January 2027, the standard career faction 1/60 applies for the calculation of his pension amount.
  • For all his services, before and after 1 January 2027, the same increase coefficient of 1 will apply.
    Thus, each full year as a lecturer counts as 12 months for the calculation of his pension’s earliest possible start date.
    
    

Limitation of admissibility of non-working periods - from 2027

End-of-career schemes and career breaks you make use of from 2027 onwards will only count towards the calculation of your retirement date to a limited extent.

• Nothing changes for periods you make use of before 1 January 2027.
• Thematic career break will also remain admissible for the pension calculation after 1 January 2027.
  
  

End-of-career

Certain employers (education, etc.) offer the possibility of a leave of absence or attachment to the civil service on a non-active basis prior to retirement. During this period, immediately preceding your retirement, you can reduce or stop your activities as a civil servant while continuing to receive part of your salary or a reduced pay.

From 1 January 2027, these end-of-career periods can count towards your pension for a maximum of 24 months (i.e. 2 years). It does not matter whether you make use of this end-of-career scheme on a full-time or part-time basis.

Are you using an end-of-career scheme for more than 24 months? This may influence the earliest possible start date of your pension.

Transitional measures end-of-career:

Are you already in an end-of-career scheme on 31 January 2025?

This measure does not apply to you. You can retire on the fixed date and your pension amount will be calculated in accordance with the current rules.

Did you submit your application for an end-of-career scheme before 1 February 2025, for a start date before 1 January 2026?

This measure does not apply to you. You can retire on the fixed date and your pension amount will be calculated in accordance with the current rules.

Did you submit your application for an end-of-career scheme between 1 February 2025 and before the publication of this legislation in the Belgian Official Journal?

This measure does not change your fixed retirement date. The other measures that lead to changes in the calculation of the pension amount do apply to you.

Career break

Career breaks you take from 1 January 2027 are only admissible for your pension if they fall within the scope of the NEO's end-of-career scheme from the age of 60.
Other forms of career break, except thematic career break, will no longer count towards your pension from 1 January 2027.

Therefore, if you make use of an end-of-career break from the age of 60, there is no impact on your pension’s earliest possible start date. However, there may be an impact on your pension amount. Indeed, the career break that is made use of is only taken into account for the calculation of the pension amount if a 7,5 % contribution is paid as a validation.

Other absences

From 1 January 2027, other forms of absence will only count towards your pension if these concern care leave or training leave. These periods are taken into account for a maximum of 24 full-time months. If you take the leave half-time, for example, a maximum of 48 months can be taken into account.

All other periods of absences you make use of from 1 January 2027, that are not for care or training purposes, will no longer count towards your pension. This is also the case if you are already making use of a career break or leave scheme, for other than care or training purposes, now and will continue to do so after 1 January 2027. Periods from 2027 no longer count towards the pension.

Changes that may affect your pension amount

Extension term reference pay - from 2027

Today, the civil service pension is calculated on the basis of the reference pay that is equal to the average pay of the last 10 career years.

For retirement pensions starting in 2027 and later, the number of years on which the reference pay is calculated are systematically increased. In this way, the civil service pension will gradually be calculated on the basis of 45 years, just like the employee pension.

You worked fewer than 45 years, or fewer than the number of years listed next to your year of birth in the following table as a civil servant? In this case, your entire career as a civil servant is taken into account.

The exception for people born before 1 January 1962 remains. For this group, the reference pay is calculated on the average pay of the last 5 years.

Summary table:

 

You end your career as a tenured civil servant at HR Rail? In this case, the table below applies to you:

 

You end your civil service career as a soldier? In this case, the table below applies to you:

 

Limitation of admissibility of non-working periods - from 2027

End-of-career schemes and career breaks you make use of from 2027 onwards will only count towards the calculation of your pension amount to a limited extent.

• Nothing changes for periods you make use of before 1 January 2027.
• Thematic career break will also remain admissible for the pension calculation after 1 January 2027.
  
  

End-of-career

Certain employers (education, etc.) offer the possibility of a leave of absence or attachment to the civil service on a non-active basis prior to retirement. During this period, immediately preceding your retirement, you can reduce or stop your activities as a civil servant while continuing to receive part of your salary or a reduced pay.

From 1 January 2027, these end-of-career periods can count towards your pension for a maximum of 24 months (i.e. 2 years). It does not matter whether you make use of this end-of-career scheme on a full-time or part-time basis.

Are you using an end-of-career scheme for more than 24 months? This may influence the earliest possible start date of your pension. Your pension amount may also be lower if part of your end-of-career scheme does not count towards your pension.

Career break

Career breaks you make use of from 1 January 2027 are only admissible for your pension if they fall within the scope of the NEO's end-of-career scheme from the age of 60.
Other forms of career break, except thematic career break, will no longer count towards the pension from 1 January 2027.

Therefore, if you make use of an end-of-career break from the age of 60, there is no impact on your pension’s earliest possible start date. However, there may be an impact on your pension amount. Indeed, the career break that is made use of is only taken into account for the calculation of the pension amount if a 7,5 % contribution is paid as a validation.

Other absences

From 1 January 2027, other forms of absence will only count towards your pension if these concern care leave or training leave. These periods are taken into account for a maximum of 24 full-time months. If you take the leave half-time, for example, a maximum of 48 months can be taken into account.

All other periods of absences you make use of from 1 January 2027, that are not for care or training purposes, will no longer count towards your pension. This is also the case if you are already making use of a career break or leave scheme, for other than care or training purposes, now and will continue to do so after 1 January 2027. Periods from 2027 no longer count towards the pension. Periods that are not taken into account not only affect your retirement age, but also the amount of your pension.

Discontinuation of more advantageous career fractions for services performed from 2027

Today, some civil servants have more advantageous career fractions for the calculation of their retirement dates and pension amounts.

From 1 January 2027, all advantageous career fractions will be replaced by 1/60. This means that if you were entitled to a more favourable career fraction than 1/60, the services you perform after 31 December 2026 will be calculated at 1/60 for your pension.

The career fraction has an impact on the calculation of the pension amount as a civil servant. A few examples:

• Jan worked his entire career as a police officer. His earliest possible start date is in 2040. For the services performed up to and including 2026, the career fraction 1/50 applies. The services therefore are divided by the fraction 600 (= 50 x 12). For the services performed from 1 January 2027, the more advantageous career fraction no longer applies. These services therefore are divided by the fraction 720 (= 60 x 12).
• An worked her entire career as a teacher. Her earliest possible start date is in 2040. For the services performed up to and including 2026, the career fraction 1/55 applies. The services therefore are divided by the fraction 660 (= 55 x 12). For the services performed from 1 January 2027, the more advantageous career fraction no longer applies. These services therefore are divided by the fraction 720 (= 60 x 12).
  
  

Political mandataries

Also for mandate holders (mayors, aldermen, public social welfare centre (OCMW) chairpersons or special committee for the social services (BCSD) chairpersons), the career fraction in the pension calculation will be adjusted from 01.01.2027:

• For terms of mandates before 1 January 2012: annual salary x 3,75 x number of full months performed/1200
• For terms of mandates from 1 January 2012: annual salary x (3,75/180) x (number of full months performed/12)
• Adaptation terms of mandates from 1 January 2027: annual salary x (3,75/225) x (number of full months performed/12)

For mandate holders born before 1 January 1957, all mandate periods up to 31 December 2026 are taken into account on the basis of this formula: annual salary x 3,75 x number of months performed/1200.

Discontinuation of pension due to physical incapacity

The government wants to abolish the retired due to physical incapacity and switch to an inability to work and disability insurance for civil servants such as exists in the private sector.

Cancellation of the biennial adaptation of the civil service pensions

The biennial adaptation of the civil service pensions will be abolished from the month following the publication of the legislation in the Belgian Official Journal.

If you are retired and have received biennial adaptations in the past, you will continue to receive them.

From the coalition agreement of 31 January 2025 to effective legislation

The coalition agreement was concluded on 31 January 2025.

Read the pensions chapter of the coalition agreement here.

The plans in this coalition agreement are yet to be further elaborated and approved. Only then will they be converted into legislation.

How will these plans be turned into actual laws? Take a look at the course here:

Find out more about the pension reform of 2021-2024.

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