The Belgian Government's pension reform would reduce the cost of ageing by 1.3% of GDP by 2070, Belgium’s minister in charge of pensions, Jan Jambon, said on Monday evening.
The reform aims to harmonise pension schemes for employees, self-employed workers, and civil servants, while narrowing the gender pension gap among current retirees.
Pensions for men would decrease slightly more than for women, primarily due to limited indexing of the highest civil-service pensions.
Among newly retired employees and self-employed workers, the reform would have a slightly greater long-term impact on women than men, potentially widening the gender pension gap for these groups by 2070.
In contrast, the gap would shrink for civil servants, as the measures benefit women more in this category.
Additionally, raising the minimum pension age would allow retirees to accumulate more pension rights, resulting in higher pensions and an improved standard of living for pensioners overall.
Jambon pointed out that the temporary suspension of the welfare envelope during this legislative term – which is linked to a slight increase in the poverty risk – was not part of the Government's pension law.
He emphasised that a reform of welfare adjustments for employees, self-employed workers, and civil servants would be developed in the coming years.
