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You are here: Home News Belgian News Four in 10 seniors below poverty level in 2016

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13/06/2008Four in 10 seniors below poverty level in 2016

Pensions in Belgium are not growing fast enough and could result in 40 percent of senior citizens living below poverty level.

13 June 2008

BELGIUM – The slow rate of growth of pension in Belgium could result in Belgium having the lowest pension in Europe.

In Belgium, prosperity grows at 2.25 percent annually, while the pensions are growing by only a 0.5 percent.

This means that the gap between the last earned wage and the pension is getting wider.

A quarter of senior citizens in Belgium are already living below the poverty level. It is expected that this will grow to 40 percent of all senior citizens in 2016,

Belgium tries to keep the pensions up to a level so that when people retire they can retain the same standard of living. But this is not working, because the gap between the last earned wage and pension that many people get is getting wider.

A study shows that the problem likes in the average pensions and the above-average pensions.

For the past 20 years, the government has focused on the guaranteed minimum pension and the minimum income for seniors. Many senior citizens with a pension just above the lowest pension risk end up in poverty.

Urgent action is also necessary for those who have a higher pension and often a supplementary pension.

The experts say that the minimum protection has to keep up with the monetary evolution. If Belgium continues with the system as it is now, the Belgian pension could be among the lowest in Europe.

The head of the government Pensions Department would like Belgium to implement the 'Swedish model'- making a supplementary pension plan obligatory for all employees.

[flandersnews.be / Expatica]


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