The Belgian federal government has reached a political agreement on a long-awaited pension reform, marking one of the most significant policy changes of the current
administration led by Bart De Wever. However, one unresolved issue concerning part-time workers—most of them women—still needs further examination before the legislation is voted on in Parliament.
On Friday, ministers finalized the core elements of the reform proposed by pensions minister Jan Jambon. The overhaul introduces stricter rules for early retirement, including a controversial “pension penalty” that reduces benefits for workers who retire early without meeting minimum career requirements.
Under the new system, workers who wish to retire before the age of 67 must demonstrate a sufficient number of working days throughout their career. Those who fall short of the threshold would see their pension reduced.
Concerns over part-time workers
One of the final obstacles during negotiations involved the impact of the reform on part-time employees, particularly women. Many women work reduced or flexible hours during parts of their careers, which can result in fewer officially counted working days.
Recent media reports highlighted several cases in which women with long professional careers could still face pension penalties because their annual working days fell below the required threshold. This situation raised concerns that the reform might disproportionately affect women, a risk also flagged by the Council of State (Belgium).
The issue stems partly from the rule that workers must accumulate at least 156 days of work per year to avoid penalties when retiring early. According to the Flemish Christian Democratic party Christian Democratic and Flemish (CD&V), some part-time employees risk losing counted days because individual workdays with fewer hours are sometimes excluded from the pension calculation—even if additional hours were worked on other days.
Further study ordered
To address these concerns, the government’s core cabinet agreed that minister Jambon will examine the scale of the problem and propose possible adjustments. The findings and any potential solutions are expected by 31 March.
CD&V had also pushed for a more flexible system regarding so-called “bad luck days”—cases where workers narrowly miss the annual threshold required to avoid the pension penalty. For now, the government has decided to keep the allowance at five days.
Next steps in the legislative process
The draft pension reform bill is now being prepared for formal submission to the King before moving to the federal parliament. After debates in the pensions committee, the proposal will be brought before the full Chamber of Representatives for discussion and a final vote.
If adopted, the reform would mark a major shift in Belgium’s pension system, aimed at encouraging longer careers while addressing growing pressure on public finances. However, the final outcome may still depend on how the government resolves the concerns surrounding part-time workers. Photo by Theedi, Wikimedia commons.