The Office of Finance Minister Johan Van Overtveldt plans to study without delay how to avoid the new pension trap that makes dozens of thousands of retirees receive less income after paying back for their years of study or opting to retain a supplementary professional activity. “The aim is not to create new pension traps that cause the situation of retirees to worsen,” Van Overtveldt’s office said.
The Federal Government had come up with a solution to a previous fiscal pension trap in November. On Wednesday, a PwC consultant revealed in l’Echo daily new traps for retirees who pay back for their study years or for having supplementary jobs. In some cases, an increase in a pensioner’s gross income can lead to a drop in net earnings.
The Office of the Finance Minister said it was seeking a solution and that it had inherited a situation stemming from the “patching up” done in preceding legislatures.
The president of the chamber’s Social Affairs Commission, Vincent Van Quickenborne (Open Vld Party) described the situation as “unacceptable” and urged the Government to do its duty as quickly as possible.
Recalling that the finance minister, who is from the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), had pledged to find a solution for the fiscal traps in the 2018 budget, the Flemish liberal parliamentarian noted that “that had not been done”. He called for a final solution to the problem.
The Brussels Times
