Retirement age rises to 66: 8 in 10 workers don't like it
January 2025 - From early 2025, the legal retirement age in Belgium will be raised from 65 to 66. This will affect all workers aged 65 and younger. Yet 8 in 10 workers do not believe they will be able to work that long, according to research by Securex. This percentage has remained almost stable since 2019.
Workers over 55 are particularly quick to face this change. Interestingly, this age group is slightly more optimistic: 7 in 10 think that working until 66 is not feasible, compared to 8.5 in 10 in 2019. This slight improvement is partly due to less physically demanding jobs, more flexibility and a greater sense of autonomy, e.g. through telecommuting.
Broad approach needed
At the same time, there are factors that have a negative impact on working longer, such as absences due to illness and a lack of autonomy due to micromanagement. This underlines that raising the retirement age alone is not enough to keep people working longer.
On average, workers stop working before the retirement age, often around 61 to 62. This is far below the current and future retirement age. Experts stress that structural measures are needed to keep workers working longer. These include more flexibility, better working conditions and appropriate human resources policies.
Raising the retirement age is essential to keep the pension system affordable. Workers who work longer not only contribute longer to the system, but also have fewer pension years, which reduces the pressure on funding. Yet a comprehensive approach is needed, both at national and organisational level, to motivate and enable workers to work longer. Only then can this important reform succeed.
