When can I retire?

You just want to find out when you can retire?
Go to mypension.be and check right away:

• your earliest possible retirement date;
• the date on which you reach the statutory retirement age.

mypension.be will also show the influence of the date on which you want to stop working on the pension amount and date.

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Statutory retirement age

In Belgium, the statutory retirement age is gradually being increased. Your statutory retirement age depends on your date of birth:

As an employee, you have to inform your employer when you retire. Your employment contract will not automatically end when you reach the statutory retirement age. Please contact your human resources service for more information.

As a civil servant, your employment contract will automatically end on the statutory retirement age. You can continue to work after the statutory retirement age on the condition that your employer agrees.

For some civil servants, the age limit is higher (for example in the case of magistrates) or lower (for example in the case of soldiers).

You can also earn an additional income when you already receive a pension. However, this is only possible under certain conditions.

If you retire at the statutory retirement age and you received a replacement income (illness, unemployment, USS - early retirement, …) right before, this benefit will end automatically when you reach the statutory retirement age.

Early retirement (before the statutory retirement age)

You can retire before the statutory retirement age if you meet the career and age conditions.

Career and age conditions

 

Which periods are taken into account for the career duration?

Both for employees and for civil servants, the following periods are taken into account to check whether you can retire early:

• the worked years
  • in a Belgian statutory pension scheme (self-employed worker, employee, civil servant, political mandatary, Overseas Social SecurityOpens in a new window);
  • with a European Union institutionOpens in a new window;
  • in a country of the European Economic Area and in Switzerland;
  • in a country with which Belgium has concluded a bilateral agreement.
    
    
• Certain periods in which you did not work (assimilated periods), such as:
  • illness;
  • unemployment;
  • justified time credit for employees;
  • remaining attached to the civil service on a non-active basis with reduced pay for civil servants.
    
    
• the periods of military service or as conscientious objector.
  
  
• ending a professional activity to raise a child younger than 6 if there is not a single type of assimilation. At most, three years are taken into account if:
  1. you received child benefits for this period;
     and
  2. this break lasted for at most five years;
     and
  3. the resumed professional activity lasts for at least one year and entitles one to a pension.

Regularized study periods are not taken into account for the early retirement. These are only taken into account for your pension amount.

As an employee, a year is taken into account if you worked at least 1/3 of a full-time employment (years of at least 104 worked or assimilated days).

As a civil servant, the following periods are taken into account to check if you can retire early:

• the services as an established civil servant (or equivalent). For every year, we count the services from their start until their end date, without taking the utilization percentage into account.
• the services as a temporarily tenured staff member in education, on the condition that you were subsequently established.
• the services as a contractual or temporary staff member that preceded your establishment (only if you were established before 1 December 2017).
• the services as a political mandatary.
• the services as a volunteer fireman, on the condition that you effectively extinguished fires and retired as a professional fireman.

For some staff categories, we raise the duration by a coefficient. This is among others the case for:

• certain education staff, HR-Rail, soldiers;
• persons exercising active services, such as postmen, customs officers, fire men, ...

You worked in several schemes? Don't worry, we take your performances in all schemes into account to determine the earliest possible retirement date.

There are also a few exceptions to the general rules for the early retirement:

• Early retirement for miners, mariners and civilian aircrew members
• Some civil servants have more advantageous career fractions
  
  

Will my pension amount be lower if I retire early?

If you retire early, your career will be shorter. Therefore, in most cases, your pension amount will correspondingly be lower.

At mypension.beOpens in a new window, you can simulate the influence of your retirement date on your pension amount.

Early retirement for miners, mariners and civilian aircrew members

Certain miners, mariners and civilian aircrew members can retire early because of the years they performed in these schemes. We call this a 'seniority pension'. If you also worked as an employee during a part of your career, you will receive the pension for that part of your career later.

Miners

Your years as a miner before 01.01.2012 are calculated in 30ths if you prove a normal and principal employment of at least 20 years before 01.01.2012.

We consider your activity as a miner to be an activity as a regular employee if you did not have 20 career years as an underground miner on 31 December 2011.

Mariners

On the basis of your performed vessel days, up to three fictitious years can be added to your career for the early retirement. These additional years are only taken into account for the calculation of the retirement date and not for the calculation of the pension amount.

80 vessel days entitle one to one additional fictitious year. In other words, 240 vessel days or more entitle one to three additional fictitious years.

Civilian aircrew members

If you were a civilian aircrew member before 2012, your conditions will be more advantageous. In this case, please contact one of our experts.

In all other cases, we consider your activity as a civilian aircrew member to be an activity as a regular employee.

Transitional measures for the early retirement of nearly retired civil servants

mypension.be takes the transitional measures into account.

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Previous conditions for the early retirement for civil servants (of application on 31.12.2015)

 

You were born before 1962?

The previous conditions (of application on 31 December 2015) may be more advantageous for you. The number of additional career years compared to the previous regulations are:

• at most one year if you were born before 1958;
• at most two years if you were born in 1958 or in 1959;
• at most three years if you were born in 1960 or in 1961.
  
  

You are taking up a specific leave prior to your retirement?

We will apply the previous regulations (of application on 31 December 2015) if you:

• are, on 1 January 2015, fully or partially attached to the civil service on a non-active basis prior to your retirement at your own request;
• have filed an application to be placed in this situation before 2 September 2015 (and this was approved by your employer before 1 January 2015);
• if you had filed this application and at the latest could have been placed in this situation on 1 January 2015.

The types of leave that fall within the scope of this regulation, were prescribed by Royal DecreeOpens in a new window.

Some civil servants have more advantageous career fractions

The calculation of the retirement date for civil servants with an advantageous career fraction is very complex. We can calculate this date for you if your electronic pension file with the Pensions Service is complete.

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More advantageous career fractions

For some civil servants, the law fixes a more advantageous career fraction than 1/60 for the calculation of the pension amount. This principle also applies to the calculation of the career duration.

The duration of the actually performed services, the paid leave and other specific situations are multiplied by an increase coefficient we determine on the basis of:

1. the year the pension takes effect;
   and
2. the required number of years of service in that year in accordance with age;
   and
3. the connected more advantageous career fraction.

If you are entitled to a more advantageous career fraction (1/55, 1/50, 1/48), we multiply your actual career by the current increase coefficient 1,0500.

Do I have an advantageous career fraction (as a civil servant)?

Career fraction 1/55

• Education (nursery, primary, secondary and higher education, part-time art education and adult education);
• Non-driving staff of the Belgian railways.
  
  

Career fraction 1/50

• Active services (among others postmen, customs officers, pilots, air traffic controllers, ...);
• Operational fire brigade members who directly take part in fire fighting;
• Operational integrated police executives;
• Active officers and NCO's (not for obligatory military service);
• Posted soldiers until their posting to another employer in the public sector (after this, career fraction 1/60 applies);
• Security officers (prisoner transport);
• Non-Roman Catholic worship ministers;
• Teachers in prisons and in the Youth Protection Service.
  
  

Career fraction 1/48

• Driving staff of the Belgian railways;
• Magistrates of the Judicial Order, the Council of State, the Constitutional Court and the Treasury;
• Federal ombudsmen;
• Roman Catholic worship ministers;
• University professors;
• Local mandataries;
• (Assistant) district commissioners;
• Committee P and I;
• (Vice-)provincial governors.

Persons born before 1957 maintain the more advantageous career fraction 1/48 connected to the abovementioned services, in other words:

• 1/35 or 1/30 (in relation to the number of service years): Magistrates of the Judicial Order, the Council of State, the Constitutional Court and the Treasury;
• 1/30 university professors, federal ombudsmen (if at least 12 years as an ombudsman);
• 1/25 for the first 15 years for the (assistant) district commissioners;
• 1/20 for Roman Catholic worship ministers and members of Committee P and I;
• 1/12 for the first seven years for the (vice-)provincial governors.

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