Lowest number since 1980 Le Soir reported on Friday (12 August) that 94 980 people in Belgium were receiving unemployment allowances that include early pensions. The number has not been so low since 1980 and reflects the impact of federal measures.
In the first half of 2016, the decline in early retirement (- 6.7%) was higher than that recorded during the whole year of 2015 (-3.8%). In the six years since 2010, with a peak of 120 000, the number of early retirees has decreased by 20 %.
This decline is due to the tightening of conditions adopted by the Michel government for qualifying for early retirement. The federal government has focused in particular in increasing the early retirement age to 62 (in case of restructuring of a company, 56 instead of 52 in 2012).
The Brussels Times (Source: Belga)
