Brussels (Brussels Morning) – Belgium’s retirement age is 65, but many retire earlier, with 41.6% leaving before 65. Stricter rules haven’t deterred early retirement, partly due to COVID and sector influences.
The legal retirement age in Belgium is 65, but in reality, citizens often retire earlier, according to figures from HR service provider Acerta. Of the employees who retired last year, no fewer than 41.6 per cent resigned before reaching retirement age. Another 54.6 percent quit at age 65.
How has the percentage of early retirees changed over time?
Four years earlier, in 2019, “only” 32.9 per cent ended their career before their 65th birthday. Since then, that figure has been on the rise. This is evident from the pension research by HR expert Acerta based on data from more than 570,000 employees and 190,000 self-employed persons as their main occupation. “It is a striking trend because the conditions for retiring were tightened in 2019,” says Ellen Van Grunderbeek, a legal expert at Acerta Consult.
What factors contribute to Belgians retiring early?
“We think there are several reasons for this. On the one hand, there is the ‘cohort effect’: there is probably a larger group that meets all the conditions for early retirement. On the other hand, there will also be a covid effect. We suspect that a large number of people continued to work, even though they could already take early retirement. A large number of them may have opted for retirement after all when they were sent home during corona and their hybrid had to start working .”
It therefore appears that the stricter rules regarding early retirement have not yet had the intended effect. “This is mainly because early retirement has continued to exist alongside the increase in the retirement age,” says Van Grunderbeek. “People are not inclined to continue for another year or two for a few dozen euros extra in pension. Moreover, you see an effect of the end-of-career systems. People who opt for a runway in the autumn of their career and, for example, start working part-time, can already get a taste of retirement. If they like it, they will also automatically enter early retirement more quickly. Suppose that the partner has already retired, then the effect is further enhanced. ”
Which sectors see the highest rates of early retirement?
The sector in which someone works also contributes to the retirement age. In sectors that traditionally about heavy professions, retirement is happening more quickly. In the construction sector, almost 60 per cent retire before the age of 65 – not illogical, because people often start earlier.
But in the social sector, barely 31.4 per cent retire before the age of 65. “Nurses in particular appear to stay working much longer, even though that is also a tough profession,” says Van Grunderbeek. “We think there are two things at play here. On the one hand, there is the social factor: people want to be able to do something for patients. On the other hand, they build up extra leave via wrinkle days from a certain age, which allows them to better maintain their work-life balance.”
