Statutory retirement age and early retirement

You need to distinguish between, on the one hand, the "statutory retirement age", which is the same age for everyone, and on the other hand the date on which you can take early retirement at the earliest, which is personal, and the moment you actually start drawing your pension. In Belgium, there is a right to a pension, not an obligation to take one. You can decide, should you wish to, not to draw your statutory pension, for example.

Example:

• man born in 1971
• statutory retirement age = 67 years
• earliest retirement date could be, for example, 63 years 11 months
• actual retirement date could be, for example, 65 years

Always ask one of our experts for advice.

Statutory retirement age

The normal pensionable age in Belgium is currently 65 years. However, this age will be increased to 66 years in 2025 and to 67 years in 2030. There are, however, exceptions for certain categories of civil servants or employees, where the age limit may be higher (for example, judges) or lower (military personnel, pilots or miners).

The date on which you can take early retirement (P-date)

If you meet the age and career conditions, you can also take early retirement. The specific rules for each scheme may vary. If you want to know the earliest point at which you can take your pension, you can request an estimate from your pension institution. Since the beginning of 2016, this has also been possible via mypension.be. If, at a certain point, you meet the conditions for taking early retirement, but you decide to postpone your pension, you can still take early retirement later. In that case, it does not matter whether you meet the stricter conditions at that time.