On Friday the cabinet approved a measure which opens up the second pillar of the pension system, the additional pension, to the self-employed. This was announced by Minister for Pensions, Daniel Bacquelaine, and the Minister for the Self-employed, Denis Ducarme.
To date, only those employed, and business leaders, are able to accumulate a pension in addition to the statutory pension. The system will now be extended to all those who are primarily self employed (as individuals) - a total of 432,500 people. It will also apply to assisting spouses, self-employed carers and those with supplementary self-employed status, contributing as much as those who are self-employed in their main job.
In return for respecting the tax limit of 80% (the amount of the legal and additional pension, which cannot exceed 80% of your final salary when last employed), the self-employed will be able to benefit from a reduction of 30% on contributions paid. Additional pension benefits are taxed at a separate rate of 10%. The bill will go before parliament before the end of the year.
Both ministers are delighted with this decision in favour of the self-employed, which follows the increase in the minimum pension. It is, they stress, an additional step towards the general availability of additional pensions and harmonising the current pension regimes.
The Brussels Times
