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Official information and services: belgium.be Belgian Federal Public Services

Combining pensions with other revenues

You receive a retirement or survivor's pension together with another Belgian pension, a foreign pension, a replacement income or a professional income? This may influence the amount or payment of your pension.

Please note: the payroll tax we deduct only takes your pension amount into account. If you combine a professional activity or a replacement income with your pension, this has an influence on the final settlement of your personal income tax. To avoid that you need to make an additional payment at the time of the final settlement, you can proactively raise your tax contribution. Find out more about the payroll tax.

Table overview combining pensions with other revenues
Can I...
combine a retirement pension with... combine a survivor's pension with... combine a transitional allowance with...
a professional income Yes, but you have to respect the wage ceilings if you are younger than 65 or have retired before you had 45 career years. Yes, but you have to respect the wage ceilings. Yes
a replacement income No, except in the case of a benefit from the Federal Public Service Social Security and a benefit due to an industrial accident or professional disease. Only during 12 months and the amount of the survivor's pension may be limited. Yes
a Belgian retirement pension Yes, but: Yes, up to a certain amount. Yes
a Belgian survivor's pension Yes Allowed in a limited measure if both survivor's pensions originate from the same spouse. In the case of successive marriages, the most advantageous survivor's pension is awarded. Yes, if it originates from the same spouse.
a foreign retirement pension Yes, but this depends on the country. Yes, up to a certain amount. Yes
a foreign survivor's pension Yes This depends on the country and on whether the survivor's pensions originate from the same spouse. Yes, if it originates from the same spouse.

 

Combination of your retirement pension with...

Combination of your retirement pension as an employee and/or civil servant with a professional income

You may combine your retirement pension without limitation with revenues from a professional activity:

  • if you have a career of 45 years on the start date of your pension;
    or
  • from 1 January of the year in which you reached the statutory retirement age.

In all other cases, you should limit your professional income to the permitted amounts.

Combination of your retirement pension as an employee and/or civil servant with a replacement income

You may not combine your retirement pension with a replacement income.

Your retirement pension will not be paid if you receive another allowance or benefit for:

  • Belgian inability to work or invalidity (you can combine a foreign benefit for inability to work or invalidity with your retirement pension);
  • Belgian or foreign unemployment;
  • Belgian or foreign time credit, career interruption or diminished professional activities;
  • Belgian or foreign four-day week or half-time employment;
  • Belgian or foreign conventional early retirement or unemployment with company supplement scheme.

You thus have to choose between:

  • your retirement pension;
    and
  • your replacement income.

We will only pay your pension if you renounce your replacement income.

If you receive a household rate pension, we reduce this to the amount as a single person if your spouse receives a replacement income.

Your pension amount is not influenced if you, at the same time:

If you receive a foreign benefit, please contact us to have its influence determined.

What do I have to do if I receive a replacement income?

You have to declare the replacement income:

  • you receive yourself;
    or
  • your spouse receives if you receive a household rate pension (solely in the case of employee pensions).

Depending on the case, you have to fill out and return the following form:

What are the consequences for my pension if I do not renounce my replacement income?

From the moment you receive a replacement income, even for just one day, the payment of your pension:

  • is suspended for every month in which you receive(d) a replacement income;
  • is reduced to the amount as a single person for every month in which your spouse receives or received a replacement income if you receive a household rate pension (only in the case of employee pensions).

Combination of your retirement pension as an employee with another Belgian retirement pension

You can combine several retirement pensions as an employee.

The total amount of your employee pension can, however, be reduced by the application of the internal limitation to the career unity.

Find out more about the principle of the internal limitation of your career as an employee.

You may also combine your retirement pension as an employee with one or more retirement pensions in another Belgian scheme.

The calculated amount of your employee pension can, however, be reduced by the application of the external limitation to the career unity.

Find out more about the principle of the external limitation of your career as an employee in the case of a mixed career.

Combination of your retirement pension as an employee with a Belgian survivor's pension

You receive a retirement pension as an employee together with one or more survivor's pensions as an employee or a pension in another scheme?

This does not influence the amount of your retirement pension as an employee, but it can influence the amount of your survivor's pension.

Combination of your retirement pension as an employee with a foreign retirement pension

The combination rules differ depending on whether or not the foreign pension is at the expense of a country that falls within the scope of the application of the European regulations or of a bilateral agreement between Belgium and another state.

Combination of a foreign pension of a country that falls within the scope of the European regulations or of a bilateral agreement

The combination with such a foreign pension influences your Belgian retirement pension, as we take your foreign insurance periods into account for the calculation of your Belgian pension amount.

The amount of your Belgian pension:

  • is determined by calculating a Belgian national pension, a theoretical pension and a proportional pension;
    and
  • corresponds to the most advantageous amount of the Belgian national pension or proportional pension.

Combination with a foreign pension of a country that does not fall within the scope of the European regulations or of a bilateral agreement

You can combine such a foreign pension with your Belgian retirement pension as an employee.

The amount of your calculated employee pension can, however, be reduced by the application of the limitation to the career unity, taking your foreign career into account.

Combination of your retirement pension as an employee with a foreign survivor's pension

The gross amount of your retirement pension as an employee is not influenced by a foreign survivor's pension.

Your foreign survivor's pension, however, can be impacted. To find out what influence this combination has, please contact the institution that pays your foreign survivor's pension.

Combination of one or more retirement pensions as a civil servant with one or more Belgian or foreign retirement or survivor's pensions

The combination of one or more retirement pensions as a civil servant or of a supplementary pension from a public sector employer with one or more:

  • survivor's pensions as a civil servant,
  • retirement or survivor's pensions as an employee,
  • retirement or survivor's pensions as a self-employed worker,
  • pensions at the expense of the NSSO - service for Overseas Social Security,
  • parliamentary pensions and mandataries’ pensions,
  • foreign retirement or survivor's pensions,
  • international and supranational pensions (EU, NATO, UN, ...)

is allowed insofar the absolute maximum is not exceeded.

Combination of your survivor’s pension with...

Combination of your survivor's pension as an employee and/or civil servant with a professional income

You have to limit your professional income to the permitted amounts.
 

Combination of your survivor's pension as an employee and/or civil servant with a replacement income

You can combine your survivor's pension for a single period of 12 consecutive or unconsecutive calendar months with a Belgian or foreign replacement income within the scope of:

  • sickness or disability;
  • unemployment;
  • time credit, career interruption or diminished professional activities;
  • four-day week or half-time employment;
  • conventional early retirement or unemployment with company supplement scheme;
  • thematic leave.

Please note: if you receive a retirement pension next to your survivor's pension, this combination with a replacement income is not allowed, not even for a single period of 12 months.

If you receive a replacement income during only a few days a month, this incomplete month will be included in the calculation of the allowed 12-month combination.

This single period of 12 months is personal: you are no longer entitled to this combination if you once again become a widow(er) after having remarried.

You can unrestrictedly combine an allowance for an industrial accident or an occupational disease and a benefit from the Federal Public Service Social Security with your survivor's pension, without this influencing your pension amount.

Please contact the Federaal agentschap voor beroepsrisico’s (Federal Agency for Occupational Hazards) to find out what influence the payment of the survivor's pension has on your benefits.

A foreign disability benefit is considered to be a retirement pension. It therefore falls within the rules for the combination with a foreign retirement pension.

If you receive a foreign social benefit, please contact us to have us determine the influence of the amount or payment on your pension.

What is the influence of the combination on my survivor's pension?

During the allowed combination for 12 months, your pension amount is limited to an annual fixed amount if your pension amount exceeds this amount.

This amount currently amounts to:

  • 13 154,21 EUR a year for employee pensions (from 01.09.2026 at the index figure 186,83), or 1 096,18 EUR gross a month.
  • 10 892,95 EUR a year for civil service pensions (from 01.09.2026 at the index figure 2,2080), or 907,75 EUR gross a month.

If the amount of your survivor’s pension falls below this amount, you will receive the full amount of your survivor’s pension.

After the 12 months of the allowed combination, you have to choose between your survivor's pension and your replacement income:

  • you renounce your replacement income and your survivor's pension is paid in full;
    or
  • you keep on receiving your replacement income and the payment of your survivor’s pension is suspended for the full months in which you receive a replacement income, even if this is for just one day.
     

What do I have to do when I receive a replacement income?

Depending on the case, you have to fill out and return the following forms:

You will receive these forms together with the notification of your pension decision.
 

Combination of a survivor's pension as an employee with another Belgian survivor's pension

The combination rules differ depending on whether your Belgian retirement pensions originate from:

  • the same spouse;
    or
  • different spouses.
     

Combination with another Belgian survivor's pension originating from the same spouse

You can combine your survivor’s pension as an employee with one or more survivor's pensions at the expense of another Belgian scheme originating from the same spouse.

The amount of the survivor's pension can, however, be reduced by the application of the limitation to the career unity, if your deceased spouse's career counts more days than the number obtained by:

  • multiplying 312 full-time days
  • by the denominator of the fraction used for the calculation of the survivor's pension.

Find out more about the principle of the limitation in the case of a survivor's pension or a transitional allowance.

Combination with another Belgian survivor's pension originating from different spouses

  • Several survivor's pensions as an employee If you can claim several survivor's pensions as an employee after successive marriages, we will only pay the most advantageous pension.
  • Survivor's pension(s) as an employee and survivor's pension(s) in another scheme

    If you can claim one or more survivor's pensions as an employee or one or more survivor's pensions in another scheme, you have to renounce your other survivor's pension(s) if (one of) your survivor’s pension(s) as an employee is the most advantageous.
     

If you, after having renounced your other survivor's pension(s), have yet more survivor's pensions as an employee, we will only pay the most advantageous survivor's pension.

If you cannot renounce your other pension, we deduct the amount of this pension from your most advantageous survivor's pension as an employee.

Combination of a survivor's pension as an employee with a Belgian retirement pension

You can combine your survivor’s pension as an employee with a retirement pension up until a limit that is fixed at 110 % of the amount of your survivor's pension for a full career.

Example

Sylvie receives a retirement pension as an employee of 3 217,66 EUR (a year).

After the passing of her spouse, we calculated a survivor's pension of 8 079,47 EUR (a year) for her on the basis of a fraction of 32 / 36 years or 9 984 / 11 232 full-time days.

We determine the limit for the combination as follows:

the amount of the survivor's pension x the inverted career fraction of the full-time days x 110 %, which results in the following limit for Sylvie: 8 079,47 x 11 232 / 9 984 full-time days x 110 % = 9 998,34 EUR.

The amount of Sylvie's survivor's pension is reduced to:

9 998,34 EUR (limit) - 3 217,66 EUR (retirement pension) = 6 780,68 EUR.

Are you exceeding the allowed limit for the combination of your survivor’s pension with your retirement pension? The amount of the survivor’s pension will be reduced, while your retirement pension continues to be paid in full.

The same rule applies if you combine your survivor’s pension as an employee with a survivor's pension as a self-employed worker and a retirement pension. The limit of 110 % is determined without taking the survivor's pension as a self-employed worker into account because any reduction of the survivor's pension as a self-employed worker is applied in that scheme.

You can also combine your survivor’s pension as an employee with:

  • a survivor's pension in another scheme than the scheme for self-employed workers;
    and
  • a retirement pension;

until the limit of 110 % of the amount of your survivor's pension as an employee for a complete career is reached.

Example

Ann receives a retirement pension as an employee of 1 239,47 EUR (a year) and a retirement pension as a civil servant of 2 478,94 EUR (a year).

After the passing of her spouse, we calculated a survivor's pension as an employee of 6 197,34 EUR (a year) for her on the basis of a fraction of 9 360 / 14 040 (or 30 / 45 years), as well as a survivor's pension as a civil servant of 1 874,49 EUR (a year) on the basis of a fraction of 3 120 / 12 480 (or 10 / 40 years).

The limit for the combination is determined as follows:

the amount of the survivor's pension x the inverted career fraction in full-time days x 110 %, which results in the following limit for Ann: 6 197,34 x 14 040 / 9 360 full-time days x 110 % = 10 225,61 EUR.

The amount of Ann's survivor's pension as an employee is reduced to:

10 225,61 EUR (limit)
- 1 239,47 EUR (retirement pension as an employee)
- 2 478,94 EUR (retirement pension as a civil servant)
- 2 324,00 EUR (survivor's pension employee for a full career x fraction survivor's pension civil servant = 6 197,34 x 14 040 / 9 360 full-time days x 3 120 / 12 480)
= 4 183,20 EUR

The amount of the survivor's pension as an employee may, however, never fall below the difference between the amount of the originally calculated survivor's pension and the sum of the amounts of your retirement pension(s).

Therefore, Ann's survivor's pension as an employee may never fall below:

6 197,34 EUR (original survivor's pension employee)
- (1 239,47 euro + 2 478,94 EUR) (amounts of the retirement pensions)
= 2 478,93 EUR

Within the framework of this combination, we also consider the following pensions to be retirement pensions:

  • the retirement pension for health reasons or for physical incapacity in the public sector;
  • the foreign disability pension (or equivalent benefit).
     

Combination of a survivor's pension as an employee with a foreign survivor's pension

The rules differ depending on whether your survivor’s pension as an employee and your foreign survivor's pension originate:

  • from the same spouse;
    or
  • from several spouses.
     

Combination with another foreign survivor's pension originating from the same spouse

If your foreign survivor's pension originating from the same spouse depends on a scheme that falls within the scope of the European regulations or of a bilateral agreement, we take the foreign insurance periods of your deceased spouse into account for the calculation of:

  1. a national survivor's pension;
  2. a theoretical survivor's pension;
  3. a proportional pension.

We will pay you the most advantageous amount of either:

  • the national survivor's pension;
    or
  • the proportional survivor's pension.

If your foreign survivor's pension originating from the same spouse does not depend on a scheme that falls under the European regulations or a bilateral agreement, we apply the same rule as for the combination with a Belgian survivor's pension originating from the same spouse. This combination is allowed insofar your deceased spouse's career does not exceed the number of full-time days that is obtained by:

  • multiplying 312 full-time days
  • by the denominator of the fraction used for the calculation of the survivor's pension employee.
     

Combination with another foreign survivor's pension originating from another spouse

If you receive a foreign survivor's pension originating from another spouse next to your Belgian survivor's pension as an employee, we reduce your Belgian survivor's pension by the amount of your foreign survivor's pension.
 

Combination of a survivor's pension as an employee with a foreign retirement pension

We apply the same rules as for the combination of a survivor's pension as an employee with a Belgian retirement pension.
 

Combination of a survivor's pension as a civil servant with other Belgian survivor's pensions

The combination rules differ depending on whether your Belgian survivor's pensions as an employee originate from:

  • the same spouse;
    or
  • different spouses.
     

Combination with another Belgian survivor's pension originating from the same spouse

You can combine your survivor’s pension as a civil servant with one or more survivor's pensions at the expense of another Belgian scheme if these originate from the same spouse.

Combination with another survivor's pension as a civil servant originating from different spouses

If you can claim several survivor's pensions as a civil servant originating from several spouses, you are only entitled to the most advantageous pension.

Combination of a survivor's pension as a civil servant with one or more retirement pensions (in all pension schemes)

You can combine a survivor's pension as a civil servant with one or more retirement pensions of any given pension scheme (civil service scheme, employee scheme, ...). The amount of the survivor's pension may, however, not exceed the maximum amount.

This amount equals 55 % of the maximum wage of the salary scale connected to the last grade of the deceased civil servant that is taken into account for the calculation or for the last revision of the most advantageous survivor's pension. The maximum wage will, if applicable, be raised by the additional wage benefits that are taken into account for the calculation of the survivor's pension.

If that amount is exceeded, the survivor's pension is reduced or even suspended.

Minimum amount

You cannot receive less than the minimum amount:

  • the amount of your survivor’s pension(s) as a civil servant;
    or
  • 9 205 EUR at the index figure 138,01 or 20 324,64 euro (from 01.09.2026 at the index figure 2,2080).

Does, after these measures, the total monthly amount of all your retirement and survivor's pensions fall below 1 239,47 EUR at the index figure 138.01 (or 14 873,64 a year) or 2 736,75 EUR (from 01.09.2026 at the index figure 2,2080)?

In this case, the reduction will only be applied for 75 %, but the new total monthly amount may not exceed 2 736,75 EUR.

The reduction is applied by starting with the lowest survivor's pension: the fixed priority is not influenced by later changes to the pension amounts. If you combine one or more survivor's pensions as a civil servant with one or more retirement pensions in any given scheme and exercise a professional activity, the survivor's pension will be reduced first.

Subsequently, the combination rules as set out for the retirement pension will be applied.

For the application of the maximum and minimum amounts, we take the following into account:

  • the retirement and survivor's pensions and other benefits of the same nature, the pension increments, the interests and benefits;
  • the pension annuities awarded by an employer of the public sector;
  • the disability annuities, the disability pension or every other benefit of the same nature awarded in accordance with a Belgian or foreign legislation or in accordance with a supranational pension scheme.

We do not take the following into account:

  • the pensions and annuities that are solely awarded to compensate for physical harm;
  • the pension annuities that stem from an activity in the employee scheme;
  • the retirement pensions of senators and members of parliament (the pension funds in question apply similar rules).

Example 1

Marleen receives a survivor's pension as a civil servant of 12 000 EUR and a retirement pension of 11 155 EUR.

Total amount of her pensions: 23 155 EUR.

The maximum wage of the salary scale of her deceased spouse amounts to 34 200.

  • Checking the limit. The limit thus amounts to 34 200 EUR x 55 % = 18 810 EUR. The total amount of the survivor's pension and of the retirement pension exceeds this limit by 4 345 EUR (23 155 EUR – 18 810 EUR).
  • Applying the reduction. Her survivor's pension thus has to be reduced by this amount.
    12 000 EUR – 4 345 EUR = 7 655 EUR.

Result: in this case, Marleen receives a survivor's pension that is reduced to 7 655 EUR + her retirement pension of 11 155 EUR = 18 810 EUR.

Example 2

Leslie receives a survivor's pension as a civil servant of 9 300 EUR and a retirement pension of 9 960 EUR.

Total amount of her pensions: 19 260 EUR.

The maximum wage of the salary scale of her deceased spouse amounts to 26 014 EUR.

  • Checking the limit. The limit thus amounts to 26 014 EUR x 55 % = 14 307,70 EUR. The total amount of the survivor's pension and of the retirement pension exceeds this limit by 4 952,30 EUR (19 260 EUR – 14 307,70 EUR).
  • Applying the reduction. Her survivor's pension thus has to be reduced by this amount.
    9 300 EUR – 4 952,30 EUR = 4 347,70 EUR.
  • Checking the minimum amount. After reduction, the total amount of her survivor's pension and of her retirement pension amounts to 14 307,70 EUR (4 347,70 EUR + 9 960 EUR). This amount falls below the minimum amount of 14 873,64 EUR.
  • Applying the relaxing measure. In this case, the relaxing measure is applied: the reduction is only applied for 75 %.
    4 952,30 EUR x 75 % = 3 714,23 EUR
    9 300 EUR – 3 714,23 EUR = 5 585,77 EUR.
  • Checking the maximum amount. The new total amount may not exceed 14 873,64 EUR. In this case the total amount is: her reduced survivor’s pension of 5 585,77 EUR + her retirement pension of 9 960 EUR = 15 545,77 EUR. Her survivor's pension will thus be reduced to bring the total amount of her pensions back to 14 873,64 EUR.

Result: Leslie thus receives a survivor's pension of 4 913,64 EUR + a retirement pension of 9 960 EUR = 14 873,64 EUR.

Combination of your transitional allowance with...

Combination of your transitional allowance with a professional income

You can unrestrictedly combine your transitional allowance as an employee with a professional income. This does not influence the amount or payment of your transitional allowance.

Combination of your transitional allowance with a replacement income

You can combine your transitional allowance as an employee for its entire duration with a Belgian or foreign replacement income within the scope of:

  • sickness or disability;
  • unemployment;
  • time credit, career interruption or diminished professional activities;
  • four-day week or half-time employment;
  • conventional early retirement or unemployment with company supplement scheme;
  • thematic leave.

Combination of your transitional allowance with a personal pension

If your personal pension starts while you are already receiving a transitional allowance, you may unrestrictedly combine them.

Once you start receiving the survivor's pension, different rules apply.

Combination of your transitional allowance with a survivor's pension or another transitional allowance

The rules differ depending on whether your transitional allowance as an employee and your survivor’s pension or your other transitional allowance originate:

  • from the same spouse;
    or
  • from several spouses.

Combination with pensions originating from the same marriage

You can combine your transitional allowance as an employee with a survivor's pension or another transitional allowance or an equivalent benefit from another Belgian or foreign scheme that originates from the same marriage.

Combination with pensions originating from a previous marriage

You cannot combine your transitional allowance as an employee with a survivor's pension or another transitional allowance or an equivalent benefit from another Belgian or foreign scheme that originates from a previous marriage.

You thus have to choose between:

  • your transitional allowance;
    and
  • your survivor's pension that was awarded after a previous marriage.

Your choice is permanent:

  • if you choose the transitional allowance, you can once again receive your survivor's pension that originates from a previous marriage (once the period in which you receive the transitional allowance ends).
  • if you choose your survivor's pension that originates from a previous marriage, you can no longer receive your transitional allowance as an employee.

Combination of your transitional allowance with an extra guaranteed minimum allowance (for civil servants only)

You can combine your transitional allowance with an extra guaranteed minimum allowance, but in this case, different rules apply if you want to retain your extra allowance:

  • professional income: you have to limit your professional income to the permitted limits that apply to the survivor's pension. If you exceed these limits, your extra allowance will be suspended.
  • replacement income: if you receive a replacement income, your extra allowance will be suspended.