According to data from the Federal Pensions Service, 70% of civil servants who retired last year were under 65, as reported by De Standaard on Thursday.
Civil servants tend to retire early more frequently than employees (46%) and self-employed individuals (23%).
Despite governmental efforts to extend working life, the average retirement age has remained at 63 years and 9 months for the past five years.
Since 1 January, the legal retirement age has increased to 66, and it will rise to 67 by 2030. In principle, anyone can opt for early retirement if they have worked a sufficient number of years. For example, to retire at 63, a person currently needs a career spanning at least 42 years.
However, many civil servants benefit from a more favourable calculation, where each year worked counts as 1.05 years, so 40 years of service equate to 42.
