Federal Minister for Pensions Jan Jambon took aim at shortcomings in the ongoing debate on pension reform, during a lecture on Monday evening at the Catholic University of Leuven (KU Leuven).
“I understand the concern,” Jambon said, ” but reasonableness and correctness are sometimes lacking in the pension debate.”
The Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (N-VA) minister spent about an hour and a half defending the proposed pension measures.
“We are still drafting the laws,” he said. “So far, we have only documented the coalition agreement, the policy statement, and the Easter agreement."
“Yet, although the laws have not been finalised, these documents have already sparked significant reactions,” the minister commented, adding that the reactions from “certain groups” are disproportionate “at this stage.”
“The discussions are ongoing and far from concluded,” he stressed. “We’re taking our time to engage with all groups.”
Jambon argued that without policy changes, the budget deficit could rise to 6.5% or €46 billion by 2029. For pensions, Jambon aims to save €2.3 billion by 2029.
“Even in the next legislative term, belt-tightening will be necessary,” he predicted.
Jambon explained that the philosophy behind the reform is to strengthen the link between actual work done and the pension amount, while harmonising the systems for civil servants, regular employees, and the self-employed.
This includes adjustments to the bonus-malus system, the definition of the career year, and the share of equivalent periods.
The minister intends to have all texts voted on by the federal parliament this year, enabling the first measures to take effect from 1 January 2026, with some aspects having a later implementation date.
