Bridge pension scheme authorized for workers at Opel Antwerp

On Monday, July 19, Joëlle Milquet, the Belgian Minister of Employment authorized the bridge pension scheme for 641 Opel workers, of which 300 are between the age of 50 and 52.

Last week, Peter Vansintjan, Cabinet Chief of Minister Milquet, argued that the bridge pension scheme will cost the Treasury €16m less than if the same group would become unemployed.

This difference is due to the additional benefits bridge pensioners receive from their employers, on top of their unemployment benefits paid by the state. Employers pay social security charges on these benefits to the Treasury, which in turn lowers the costs to the Government.

AmCham Belgium’s position
AmCham Belgium articulates in its publication, Priorities for a Prosperous Belgium, that incentives to retain older workers in the active workforce should be improved.

The Chamber strongly believes that Belgium should capitalize on this particular age group’s extensive work experience and advocates reducing and ultimately eliminating the bridge pension for anyone younger than the age of 60.

Despite the favorable short-term cost savings to the Government, it is clear that retirement at the age of 50 is too early, regardless of whether it is in a bridge pension or unemployment scheme. Therefore, neither system should allow for beneficiaries to use this as a permanent scheme until they reach the legal pension age of 65.

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