social security - FOD Sociale Zekerheid

B. Retirement pensionsTo obtain a retirement pension, you have to meet a number of conditions. First, you must havereached a given age and second, you can no longer exercise a professional activity.B.1. Pension ageThe normal pension age for women is established at 65 years for both men and women. FromJanuary 1991 until June 1997, every salaried person had the possibility to take retirement at theage of 60. Women would have to prove 40 years of salaried service for a full career, men 45 years.To solve this problem of unequal treatment of men and women, it was decided to establish thenormal pension age for both men and women at 65 years, after a long transition period that cameto an end on 1 January 2009. In other words, both men and women shall have to work 45 years tobe entitled to a full pension.The possibility to take retirement earlier than the normal pension age remains available. For maleand female workers, this is possible at the age of 60, if the career counts at least 35 years.The pension age for self-employed persons is 65 for both women and men. Just like the salariedworkers, self-employed persons may also anticipate their pension as from the age of 60 yearsonwards. In case of anticipated pension and unless the career counts at least 42 years, the pensionamount is reduced by 25% if the pension starts before the age of 61, by 18% if the pension startsas from the age of 61 and before the age of 62, by 12% if the pension starts as from the age of 62and before the age of 63, by 7% if the pension starts as from the age of 63 and before the age of64 and by 3% if the pension starts as from the age of 64 and before the age of 65.. Just like in thescheme for salaried workers, the required number of career years (for both men and women) hasbeen established at 35 years since 2005.The normal pension age for permanently appointed civil servants is equal for men and women:65 years. Civil servants can request to be retired as from the age of 60, provided they have at leastfive years of service and that they can assert services or qualifying periods accomplished after 31December 1976.For certain categories of civil servants, the age limit may be higher (for magistrates e.g.) or lower(for certain military personnel).Contractual civil servants receive the same pension as salaried workers.The table below gives a summary of the pension ages applied in the three sectors.Salaried workers Self-employed persons Civil servantsNormal Anticipated Normal Anticipated Normal Anticipated65 60 65 60 65 variableIn the salaried workers' scheme, this pension system is not obligatory. In other words, if hisemployer agrees, a salaried worker may continue to work after his 65th birthday. In thatcase, he shall have to pay the same contributions as the other active persons, including pensioncontributions. Civil servants, on the other hand, have to retire at the latest when they reach theage of 65 (with a few exceptions, cf. above).35