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10 AOUT 2015. - An Act to raise the legal age of pension, the conditions for access to early retirement pension and the minimum age for survival pension (1)

PHILIPPE, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
Part 1^er. - General provision
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 74 of the Constitution.
Part 2. - Public sector pension provisions
CHAPTER 1^er . - Removal of the legal age of retirement pension and amendment of the conditions of access to early retirement pension
Section 1^re. - Amendments
Art. 2. In section 46 of the Act of May 15, 1984 on harmonization measures in pension plans, last amended by the Act of May 5, 2014, the following amendments are made:
1° ) in § 1^erParagraph 1^er, words "62^e birthday" are replaced by the words "63^e anniversary
2° ) in § 1^erParagraph 1^er, 1°, the words "40 years" are replaced by the words "42 years";
3° ) in § 1^er, paragraph 3, the words "62", "42 years", and "41 years", are replaced by the words "63 years", "44 years" and "43 years" respectively;
4° ) paragraph 2 is supplemented by the 4°, 5° and 6° written as follows:
"4° For retirement pensions between 1^er January 2016 and December 31, 2016:
- at 62 years for persons who can claim at least 40 years of service determined in accordance with § 1^erParagraph 1^er, 1° ;
- 61 years of age for persons who may claim at least 41 years of service determined in accordance with § 1^erParagraph 1^er, 1° ;
- 60 years for persons who may claim at least 42 years of service determined in accordance with § 1^erParagraph 1^er, 1° ;
5° For retirement pensions between 1^er January 2017 and December 31, 2017:
- 62 years and 6 months for persons who can claim at least 41 years of services determined in accordance with § 1^erParagraph 1^er, 1° ;
- 61 years for persons who may claim at least 42 years of service determined in accordance with § 1^erParagraph 1^er, 1° ;
- 60 years for persons who may claim at least 43 years of service determined in accordance with § 1^erParagraph 1^er, 1° ;
6° For retirement pensions between 1^er January 2018 and December 31, 2018:
- 63 years of age for persons who can claim at least 41 years of services determined in accordance with § 1^erParagraph 1^er, 1° ;
- 61 years for persons who may claim at least 42 years of service determined in accordance with § 1^erParagraph 1^er, 1° ;
- 60 years for persons who may claim at least 43 years of service determined in accordance with § 1^erParagraph 1^er1°. ";
(5) Paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:
§ 3. The term of service set out in § 1^erParagraph 1^er1°, § 2 and § 2/1 shall not be filled by the person born before 1^er January 1953 or by the person who reached the age of 65.
Derogation from paragraph 1^erthe age of 65 referred to in this paragraph shall be:
1° ) 66 years if the pension takes place between 1^er February 2025 and 31 January 2030;
2° ) 67 years if the pension takes place from 1^er February 2030.
Pensions that take place during the months of January of 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 or 2019 are, for the purposes of paragraph 2, expected to take place in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 or 2018.
Pensions that take place during the month of January of 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 or 2022 are, for the purposes of paragraph 3/1, expected to take place in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 or 2021 respectively. ";
6° ) in paragraph 3/1 the following modifications are made:
(a) in paragraph 1^er, the words "§ 3, paragraphs 2 to 4" are replaced by the words "§ 3, paragraph 3";
(b) in paragraph 5, the words "42 years" are replaced by the words "42 years or more".
Art. 3. In section 90 of the Act of 28 December 2011 on various provisions, replaced by the Act of 13 December 2012, the words "retirement pension before the age of 62" are replaced by the words "early retirement pension".
Section 2. - Transitional provisions
Art. 4. Section 2 is not applicable:
1° ) to persons who at 1^er January 2015 was at their request in a position of availability, total or partial, prior to retirement or in a similar situation;
2° ) to persons who have filed an application approved by their employer before 1^er January 2015 to be placed before 2 September 2015 in a situation referred to in 1° );
3° ) to persons who, if they had introduced the application, could have been placed by 1^er January 2015 in a situation referred to in 1° ).
Situations that result in the application of paragraph 1^er are those included in the King's list pursuant to section 8, paragraph 2, of the Act of 28 April 2015 on provisions concerning public sector pensions.
Art. 5. In case of application of Chapter 2, Section 1^reof the Act of 28 April 2015 referred to above, section 1^re or both sections together, notwithstanding any other legal, regulatory or contractual provision, the person who reaches in 2016:
- the age of 55 or 56 may in any case be put to the pension upon the expiration of a period of three years of service taking place from the time when, on the basis of the legislation in force as of December 31, 2015, it meets the conditions to be eligible for precipatory pension;
- the age of 57 or 58 years, may in any event be put to the pension upon the expiration of a period of two years of services taking place from the time when, on the basis of the legislation in force as of December 31, 2015, it meets the conditions to be put to the pension anticipation;
- the age of 59 or more, may in any case be put to the pension upon the expiration of a period of one year of services taking place from the time when, on the basis of the legislation in force as of December 31, 2015, it meets the conditions to be put to the pension anticipation.
Art. 6. Section 5 applies to pensions referred to in section 38 of the Act of 5 August 1978 of economic and budgetary reforms and section 80 of the Act of 3 February 2003 making various amendments to public sector pension legislation.
Section 3. - Abrogatory provision
Art. 7. In Chapter 2 of the Act of April 28, 2015, section 4, comprising sections 24 to 26, is repealed.
Section 4. - Final provision
Art. 8. The King may, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers, repeal, amend, supplement or replace the legal provisions relating to public sector pensions to adapt them to the progressive increase of the age and duration of the services determined by Article 46, §§ 1^er to 3, of the Act of May 15, 1984 on harmonization measures in pension plans, as amended by section 2 of this chapter.
CHAPTER 2. - Recovery of the minimum age of survival pension
Art. 9. Article 5/1, § 1^er, the Act of May 15, 1984 on measures of harmonization in pension plans, inserted by the Act of May 15, 2014, the following amendments are made:
1° ) in § 1^er, paragraph 2, last dash, the words "se situeurement postérieurement au 31 décembre 2024" are replaced by the words "survenes in the period between 1^er January 2025 and December 31, 2025";
2° ) § 1^erParagraph 2 is supplemented by the following:
"- 51 years when the death of the spouse occurs in the period between 1^er January 2026 and 31 December 2026;
52 years when the death of the spouse occurs in the period between 1^er January 2027 and 31 December 2027;
- 53 years when the death of the spouse occurs in the period between 1^er January 2028 and 31 December 2028;
- 54 years when the death of the spouse occurs in the period between 1^er January 2029 and December 31, 2029;
- 55 years after the death of the spouse is 31 December 2029. ".
Art. 10. In article 6/1, paragraph 3, of the same law, inserted by the law of May 15, 2014, the words "ported to 50 years" are replaced by the words "ported to 55 years".
CHAPTER 3. - Entry into force
Art. 11. This title comes into force on 1^er January 2017.
Part 3. - Provisions concerning pensions of wage workers
CHAPTER 1^er. - Removal of the legal age of retirement pension and amendment of the conditions of access to early retirement pension
Section 1^re. - Revocation of the legal age of pension
Art. 12. In section 2 of the Royal Decree of 23 December 1996 implementing articles 15, 16 and 17 of the Act of 26 July 1996 on social security modernization and ensuring the viability of legal pension schemes, as amended by the Act of 28 December 2011, paragraph 1^er is replaced by the following:
§ 1^er. The pension shall take place on the first day of the month following the month in which the employee applies and at the earliest on the first day of the month following the month in which he reaches the age of the pension. The pension age is:
1° 65 years for pensions that take actual course and for the first time no later than 1^er January 2025;
2° 66 years for pensions that actually take place and for the first time as soon as 1^er February 2025 and no later than 1^er January 2030;
3° 67 years for pensions that actually take place and for the first time as soon as 1^er February 2030. ".
Art. 13. In Article 4, § 4, paragraph 1^er, of the same order, as amended by the Royal Decree of 23 April 1997, the words "the age of pension, 65 years" are replaced by the words "the age of pension referred to in Article 2, § 1^er".
Art. 14. In Article 7, § 1^er, paragraph 11, of the same order, the words "the age of 65" are replaced by the words "the age of pension referred to in Article 2, § 1^er".
Art. 15. Section 2 of the Act of 22 March 2001 establishing the guarantee of income for older persons, as amended by the Acts of 23 December 2005 and 8 December 2013, is supplemented by the 7th drafted as follows:
"7° the Royal Decree of 23 December 1996: the Royal Decree of 23 December 1996 implementing articles 15, 16 and 17 of the Act of 26 July 1996 on the modernization of social security and ensuring the viability of legal pension schemes".
Art. 16. Section 3 of the Act is replaced by the following:
"Art. 3. The income guarantee is provided to persons who have reached the legal age of the pension referred to in Article 2, § 1^erof the Royal Decree of 23 December 1996".
Art. 17. In Article 3, § 1^er, from the Royal Decree of 20 September 2012 enforcing sections 116, paragraph 2 and 119, of the Act of 28 December 2011 on various provisions relating to the pension of civil aviation personnel, the words "at 65 years" are repealed.
Section 2. - Change in conditions of access to early retirement pension
Art. 18. In section 4 of the Royal Decree of 23 December 1996 implementing articles 15, 16 and 17 of the Act of 26 July 1996 on social security modernization and ensuring the viability of the legal pension plans, last amended by the Act of 24 June 2013, the following amendments are made:
1° in § 1^er, 4°, the words "as early as 1^er January 2016." are replaced by the words "as early as 1^er January 2016 and no later than 1^er December 2016";
2° paragraph 1^er is completed by the 5° and 6° written as follows:
"5° on the first day of the seventh month following that in which he reaches the age of 62, for pensions that take actual course and for the first time as soon as 1^er January 2017 and no later than 1^er December 2017;
6° on the first day of the month following the month in which it reaches the age of 63, for pensions that actually take place and for the first time as soon as 1^er January 2018. ";
3° in paragraph 2, paragraph 1^er, 3°, the words "as early as 1^er January 2015." are replaced by the words "as early as 1^er January 2015 and no later than 1^er December 2016";
4° in paragraph 2, paragraph 1^er is completed by the 4° and 5° written as follows:
"4° of at least 41 years, for pensions that actually take place and for the first time as early as 1^er January 2017 and no later than 1^er December 2018;
5° of at least 42 years, for pensions that actually take place and for the first time as soon as 1^er January 2019. ";
5° in § 3, 3°, the words "as early as 1^er January 2016," are replaced by the words "as early as 1^er January 2016 and no later than 1^er December 2016";
6° paragraph 3 is supplemented by the 4° and 5° as follows:
"4° for pensions that take actual course and for the first time as early as 1^er January 2017 and no later than 1^er December 2018:
(a) if the employee proves a career of at least 43 calendar years as defined in paragraph 2, his early retirement pension may take place on the first day of the month following that in which he reaches the age of 60;
(b) if the employee proves a career of at least 42 calendar years as defined in paragraph 2, his early retirement pension may take place on the first day of the month following that in which he or she reaches the age of 61;
5° for pensions that take actual course and for the first time as early as 1^er January 2019:
(a) if the employee proves a career of at least 44 calendar years as defined in paragraph 2, his early retirement pension may take place on the first day of the month following that in which he reaches the age of 60;
(b) if the employee proves a career of at least 43 calendar years as defined in paragraph 2, his early retirement pension may take place on the first day of the month following that in which he reaches the age of 61. ";
7° Paragraph 3bis is supplemented by a paragraph written as follows:
"By derogation from paragraphs 1 to 3 and without prejudice to paragraph 1^erthe employee, who has attained the age of 59 or more in 2016, may take his early retirement pension under the age and career conditions set out in paragraphs 1 to 3 and in force until December 31, 2016, each increased one year.";
8° in paragraph 3ter, three paragraphs are inserted between paragraphs 3 and 4:
"By derogation from § 1^er5°, the age for pension taking place in January 2017 is fixed in accordance with § 1^erFour. By derogation from § 2, paragraph 1^er, 4°, the condition of career required for pensions taking place in January 2017 is fixed in accordance with § 2, paragraph 1^erThree.
By derogation from § 1^er6°, the age for pension taking place in January 2018 is fixed in accordance with § 1^erFive.
By derogation from § 2, paragraph 1^er5°, the condition of career required for pensions taking place in January 2019 is fixed in accordance with § 2, paragraph 1^erFour. ";
9° paragraph 3ter is supplemented by two paragraphs as follows:
"By derogation from § 3, 4°, the condition of career required for pensions taking place in January 2017 is fixed in accordance with § 3, 3°.
By derogation from § 3, 5°, the condition of career required for pensions taking place in January 2019 is fixed in accordance with § 3, 4°. ".
Art. 19. Employees who have been terminated, who have resigned or have entered into an agreement with their employer that terminates the contract of employment, with, in each of these cases, the benefit of a notice or the payment of a notice allowance, may take their pension in advance on the age and career conditions provided for in Article 4, §§ 1^er to 3 of the Royal Decree of 23 December 1996 implementing articles 15, 16 and 17 of the Act of 26 July 1996 on social security modernization and ensuring the viability of the statutory pension plans and in force until 31 December 2016 inclusive, provided they meet the following cumulative conditions:
1° the notice began before October 9, 2014 and ends after December 31, 2016 or the period covered by the notice allowance began before October 9, 2014 and ends after December 31, 2016;
2° the age and career conditions are met at the end of the notice or period covered by the notice allowance.
When applying for early retirement pension under paragraph 1^er, employed workers provide the National Pension Board, in support of their application, as the case may be:
1° a copy of the notice of leave that mentions the beginning and duration of the notice or period covered by the notice allowance;
2° a copy of the agreement that terminates the employment contract and which mentions the beginning and duration of the notice or period covered by the notice allowance.
Art. 20. Employees who have jointly signed an individual agreement with their employer that terminates the employment contract, may take their retirement pension in advance to the age and career conditions set out in Article 4, §§ 1^er to 3, of the Royal Decree of 23 December 1996 implementing articles 15, 16 and 17 of the Act of 26 July 1996 on social security modernization and ensuring the viability of the legal pension plans and in force until 31 December 2016, provided they meet the following cumulative conditions:
1° the agreement is written;
2° the agreement was concluded before 9 October 2014; this condition shall be deemed to be fulfilled in the event of mention of the worker on a nominative list annexed to a collective labour agreement referred to in 3°, b), or to a collective labour agreement filed before 1^er January 2015 to implement a collective labour agreement referred to in 3°, b);
3° the convention was concluded outside the framework of a conventional prepension and finds its basis in legal or regulatory provisions or in one of the following collective instruments:
(a) a working regulation communicated before 9 October 2014 in accordance with Article 15, paragraph 7, of the Act of 8 April 1965 establishing the working regulations;
(b) a collective labour agreement filed before 9 October 2014 in accordance with Article 18 of the Act of 5 December 1968 on collective labour agreements and joint commissions;
(c) a pension regulation in force before 9 October 2014 within the meaning of Article 3, § 1^er, 9°, the Act of 28 April 2003 on supplementary pensions and the tax system of supplementary pensions and certain additional social security benefits;
4° the legal or regulatory provisions or collective instruments, which are mentioned in the 3°, provide for a start-up process to be able to take early pension;
5° at the end of the employment contract, these workers meet the aforementioned age and career conditions.
When applying for early retirement pension under paragraph 1^er, employed workers provide the National Board of Pensions in support of their application:
1° a copy of the written individual convention;
2° a copy of the labour regulations, a copy of the collective labour agreement, a copy of the pension regulations or the reference to legal and regulatory provisions.
CHAPTER 2. - Recovery of the minimum age of survival pension
Art. 21. In Article 16, § 1^erthe following amendments are made to Royal Decree No. 50 of 24 October 1967 concerning the pension and survival of employed workers, as amended by the laws of 5 June 1970, 25 January 1999 and 5 May 2014:
1° in paragraph 2, the 11° is replaced by the following:
"11° 50 years, when the death of the spouse occurs at the earliest of 1^er January 2025 and no later than December 31, 2025;"
2° paragraph 2 is supplemented by the 12°, 13°, 14°, 15° and 16° written as follows:
"12° 51, when the death of the spouse occurs at the earliest of 1^er January 2026 and no later than 31 December 2026;
13° 52 years, when the death of the spouse occurs at the earliest of 1^er January 2027 and no later than 31 December 2027;
14° 53 years, when the death of the spouse occurs at the earliest of 1^er January 2028 and no later than 31 December 2028;
15° 54, when the death of the spouse occurs at the earliest of 1^er January 2029 and no later than 31 December 2029;
16° 55, when the death of the spouse occurs at the earliest of 1^er January 2030";
3° it shall be inserted between paragraphs 2 and 3 a paragraph which reads as follows:
"The survival pension is granted to the surviving spouse who, on the date of the death of his or her spouse, has reached the age referred to in paragraph 2".
CHAPTER 3. - Other provisions relating to the transition allowance
Art. 22. In Article 21, § 1^erParagraph 1^erof the Act of 13 June 1966 on the retirement and survival pension of workers, employees, sailors under Belgian flag, minor workers and free insured persons, replaced by the Act of 25 January 1999 and amended by the Act of 22 March 2001, the following amendments are made:
1° 1° is completed by (i) as follows:
"(i) the transitional allowances granted in the pension plan for employees";
2° in 2°, b) is replaced by the following:
"(b) the National Board of Pensions with respect to the benefits referred to in 1°, a, c, d, e, h, i, if applicable, f and g."
Art. 23. In Article 21, § 1^er, from the above-mentioned Royal Decree No. 50, replaced by the law of May 5, 2014, the sentence "In the other cases, it shall take place at the earliest, on the first day of the month following that application" is replaced by the sentence "In the other cases, it shall take place at the earliest of the first day of the month following that application, for the period fixed under section 21ter and calculated from the date on which the transitional claim had been made
Art. 24. Section 21ter of the same order, inserted by the law of 5 May 2014, is supplemented by a paragraph 4, as follows:
§ 4. The surviving spouse, who has been united by successive marriages, may not accumulate a transitional allowance provided for by this Order with a survival pension or benefit taking place on the charge of a Belgian or foreign regime. In this case, he chooses between the two benefits and this choice is final".
Art. 25. In section 21quater of the same order, inserted by the law of 5 May 2014, the following amendments are made:
1st paragraph 1^er is replaced by the following:
"The surviving spouse who has benefited or could have benefited from the provisions of this chapter may apply to the provisions of Chapter 3 in respect of a surviving pension when the surviving spouse benefits from a Belgian legal pension plan or when the surviving spouse benefits from a pension on the grounds of health or physical fitness in the public sector, provided that the surviving spouse is not remarried on the day on which the retirement pension is taken. ";
2° in paragraph 2, the 3° is replaced by the following:
"3° at the legal age of the Belgian pension when the surviving spouse does not justify a personal professional career. ".
Art. 26. In article 7bis of the Royal Decree of 23 December 1996 implementing articles 15, 16 and 17 of the Act of 26 July 1996 on social security modernization and ensuring the viability of legal pension schemes, inserted by the Act of 5 May 2014, the following amendments are made:
1° in paragraph 1^erParagraph 4 is replaced by the following:
"When the spouse died before 1^er January of the year of his twenty-first anniversary and was occupied within the meaning of Royal Decree No. 50 at the time of his death, the amount of the transition allowance is 60%:
- 1° of the amount of compensation for the deceased spouse referred to in Article 7 of Royal Decree No. 50 and related to the most advantageous of the calendar years;
- 2° of the lump sum referred to in Article 8, § 1^erParagraph 1^er, if the calculation method for 1° cannot be applied or is less favourable. ";
2° in paragraph 1^erParagraph 6 is repealed;
3° in paragraph 2, paragraph 1^er is replaced by the following:
"By derogation from § 1^erParagraph 1^erif the annual remuneration, for a career year of the deceased worker, reassessed on the date of taking the transition allowance is less, per year, than the amount referred to in Article 8, § 1^erParagraph 1^er, the transition allowance is calculated on the basis of this amount for the year in question. This amount is determined on the basis of the proven duration of occupation expressed in full-time equivalent days."
4° in paragraph 2, paragraphs 3 and 4 are repealed.
CHAPTER 4. - Entry into force
Art. 27. This title is effective 1^er January 2015, with the exception of articles 12 to 20 and 21, 1° and 2°.
Part 4. - Pension arrangements for self-employed workers
CHAPTER 1^er. - Removal of the legal age of retirement pension and amendment of the conditions of access to early retirement pension
Section 1^re. - Amendments
Art. 28. Article 3 of the Royal Decree of 30 January 1997 on the pension plan of self-employed persons pursuant to articles 15 and 27 of the Act of 26 July 1996 on the modernization of social security and ensuring the viability of the legal pension schemes and article 3, § 1^er, 4° of the law of 26 July 1996 to fulfil the budgetary conditions of Belgium's participation in the European Economic and Monetary Union, last amended by the law of 28 June 2013, the following amendments are made:
Paragraphs 1bis and 1ter are inserted, as follows:
§ 1^erbis. From 1^er February 2025 and for pensions that take place effectively and for the first time as soon as 1^er February 2025 and no later than 1^er January 2030, the pension age is 66.
§ 1^erter. From 1^er February 2030 and for pensions that take place effectively and for the first time as early as 1^er February 2030, the pension age is 67. ";
2° in paragraph 2bis, paragraph 4, inserted by the Act of 21 December 2012 and repealed by the Act of 28 June 2013, is reinstated;
3° in paragraph 2bis, paragraph 4 that becomes paragraph 5 is repealed;
4° a paragraph 2ter is inserted as follows:
§ 2ter. The pension may nevertheless take place, at the option and at the request of the person concerned, before the age provided for in § 1^erand as early as the first day of the month following the 63rd anniversary.
Derogation from paragraph 1^er and pensions that are actually taking place and for the first time not earlier than 1^er February 2018 and no later than 1^er January 2019, the retirement pension may take place, at the choice and at the request of the individual:
1st on the first day of the month following the 60th anniversary when the interested person proves a career of at least 43 calendar years;
2° on the first day of the month following the 61st anniversary when the interested person proves a career of at least 42 calendar years;
3° on the first day of the month following the 62nd anniversary when the interested person proves a career of at least 42 calendar years.
Derogation from paragraph 1^er and for pensions that actually take place and for the first time as soon as 1^er February 2019, the retirement pension may take place, at the choice and at the request of the individual:
1st on the first day of the month following the 60th anniversary when the interested person proves a career of at least 44 calendar years;
2° on the first day of the month following the 61st anniversary when the interested person proves a career of at least 43 calendar years;
3° on the first day of the month following the 62nd anniversary when the interested person proves a career of at least 43 calendar years.
However, a person who, at any time, meets the age and career conditions set out in paragraph 2bis, this paragraph, paragraph 3, paragraph 2 or 3, or article 16ter, to obtain a pension before the age referred to in paragraph 1^er, may obtain an early retirement pension at the election and on the application, regardless of the effective date of the pension";
5° in paragraph 3, between paragraphs 2 and 3, two paragraphs are inserted as follows:
"The possibility of an early retirement pension in accordance with § 2ter, paragraph 1^er, is subject in the head of the interested party to the condition of proving a career of at least:
1° 41 calendar years if the pension actually takes place and 1^re as soon as 1^er February 2018 and no later than 1^er January 2019;
2° 42 calendar years if the pension actually takes place and 1^re as soon as possible from 1^er February 2019.
By calendar years within the meaning of paragraph 3, it is necessary to hear the years likely to open pension rights under one or more Belgian legal pension schemes or pension schemes that fall within the scope of the European Social Security Regulations or a social security agreement concluded by Belgium concerning pensions of workers or self-employed persons";
6° in § 3, paragraph 3, which becomes paragraph 5, the words "the calendar years referred to in paragraph 1^er and paragraph 2" replaced by the words "the calendar years referred to in paragraph 1^er 4".
Art. 29. In Article 7, § 2, of the same decree, the words "the age of 65" are replaced by the words "the age referred to in Article 3, § 1^er§ 1^erbis or § 1^erter, as the case may be."
Art. 30. In the same order, an article 16ter is inserted as follows:
"Art. 16ter. By derogation from Article 3, § 2ter, paragraph 1^er, and for pensions that actually take place and for the first time as early as 1^er February 2017 and no later than 1^er January 2018, the retirement pension may take place, at the option and at the request of the person concerned, at the earliest of the first day of the seventh month following the 62nd anniversary provided that the person concerned proves a career of at least 41 calendar years.
Derogation from paragraph 1^erthe pension may take place at the earliest:
1st on the first day of the month following the 60th anniversary when the interested person proves a career of at least 43 calendar years;
2° on the first day of the month following the 61st anniversary when the interested person proves a career of at least 42 calendar years.
Civil years as defined in paragraphs 1^er and 2, it is necessary to hear the years likely to open pension rights under one or more Belgian legal pension schemes, or regimes that fall within the scope of the European Social Security Regulations or a social security agreement concluded by Belgium concerning pensions of workers or self-employed workers. ".
Art. 31. Article 4 of the Act of 21 December 2012 amending the Royal Decree of 30 January 1997 on the pension plan of self-employed persons pursuant to articles 15 and 27 of the Act of 26 July 1996 on social security modernization and ensuring the viability of the legal pension schemes and article 3, § 1^er4° of the Act of 26 July 1996 to fulfil the budgetary conditions of Belgium's participation in the European Economic and Monetary Union and establishing a transitional measure relating to the reform of the early retirement pension of independent workers, the following amendments are made:
1st paragraph 1^er is replaced by the following:
"By derogation from the age and career conditions provided for in Article 3, § 2bis, paragraphs 1^er and 2, § 2ter, § 3, paragraphs 1^er and 2, Article 16bis, §§ 1^er and 2, and in section 16ter, of the same Royal Decree, the early retirement pension of the person who was born before 1^er January 1956, which proves, by 31 December 2012, a career of at least 32 calendar years within the meaning of Article 3, § 3, paragraph 1^er, of the same royal decree, may take courses from 1^er January 2013, at the option and upon request, no earlier than 1^er the day of the month following its 62nd anniversary";
2° Paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:
"By calendar years within the meaning of paragraph 2, it is necessary to hear the years likely to open pension rights under one or more Belgian legal pension schemes within the meaning of Article 3, § 3, paragraph 5, of the same Royal Decree, or regimes that fall within the scope of the European Social Security Regulations or a social security agreement concluded by Belgium concerning pensions of self-employed workers".
Section 2. - Transitional provisions
Art. 32. By derogation from the age and career conditions provided for in Article 3, § 2ter, and Article 16ter, of the Royal Decree of 30 January 1997 on the pension plan of self-employed persons pursuant to Articles 15 and 27 of the Law of 26 July 1996 on the Modernization of Social Security and ensuring the viability of the legal pension schemes and Article 3, § 1^er, 4°, of the law of 26 July 1996 to fulfil the budgetary conditions of Belgium's participation in the European Economic and Monetary Union, the interested person who was born before 1^er January 1958 may take his early retirement pension under the age and career conditions set out in Articles 3, § 2bis, and § 3, paragraphs 2 to 6, and 16bis, §§ 1^er at 2bis, of the royal decree of January 30, 1997 referred to above, as in force until December 31, 2016, plus each one year.
Art. 33. A person who may take an early retirement pension in the employee pension under section 19 or 20, and who has exercised an activity in the plan of independent workers, may take an early retirement pension in the plan of self-employed persons under the age and career conditions set out in Articles 3, § 2bis, and § 3, paragraphs 2 to 6, and 16bis, §§ 1^er to 2bis, the Royal Decree of 30 January 1997 on the pension plan for self-employed persons pursuant to articles 15 and 27 of the Act of 26 July 1996 on social security modernization and ensuring the viability of the legal pension schemes and article 3, § 1^er, 4°, of the law of 26 July 1996 to fulfil the budgetary conditions of Belgium's participation in the European Economic and Monetary Union, as in force until 31 December 2016.
CHAPTER 2. - Recovery of the minimum age of survival pension and minimum grant of the transition allowance
Art. 34. Article 4, § 1^erof Royal Decree No. 72 of 10 November 1967 concerning the retirement and survival pension of self-employed persons, last amended by the Act of 25 April 2014, the following amendments are made:
1° in paragraph 1^er, 2°, the 10° is replaced by the following:
"10° 50 years when the death of the spouse occurs at the earliest of 1^er January 2025 and no later than December 31, 2025";
2° paragraph 1^er, 2°, is completed by the 11° to 15° written as follows:
"11° 51 when the death of the spouse occurs at the earliest of 1^er January 2026 and no later than 31 December 2026;
12° 52 years when the death of the spouse occurs at the earliest of 1^er January 2027 and no later than 31 December 2027;
13° 53 years when the death of the spouse occurs at the earliest of 1^er January 2028 and no later than 31 December 2028;
14° 54 years when the death of the spouse occurs at the earliest of 1^er January 2029 and no later than 31 December 2029;
15° 55 when the death of the spouse occurs at the earliest of 1^er January 2030";
3° paragraph 1^er is supplemented by a paragraph that reads as follows:
"The survival pension is granted to the surviving spouse who, on the date of the death of his spouse, has reached the age referred to in the preceding paragraph."
Art. 35. In article 9bis of the Royal Decree of 30 January 1997 on the pension plan for self-employed persons pursuant to articles 15 and 27 of the Act of 26 July 1996 on social security modernization and ensuring the viability of the legal pension schemes and article 3, § 1^er, 4° of the law of 26 July 1996 to fulfil the budgetary conditions of Belgium's participation in the European Economic and Monetary Union, inserted by the law of 25 April 2014, paragraph 7 is replaced by the following:
"§ 7. If the amount of the transition allowance calculated in accordance with the provisions of Articles 7bis and 8bis and this Article is less than the amount obtained by multiplying the amount of 9 648.57 euros referred to in Article 131ter, § 1^erof the law of 15 May 1984 by the fraction referred to in Article 7bis, § 1^er, the latter amount is allocated.
From 1^er April 2015, the amount of 9 648.57 euros referred to in paragraph 1^er equals the amount referred to in section 131ter, § 1^erof the Law of May 15, 1984 for a Survival Pension".
CHAPTER 3. - Other provisions relating to transitional allowance and survival pension
Art. 36. In article 4 of Royal Decree No. 72 of 10 November 1967 concerning the retirement and survival pension of self-employed persons, last amended by the Act of 10 August 2015, the following amendments are made:
1° § 1^erParagraph 1^er, 1°, is completed by the following sentence:
"The King determines the way in which the condition of the child burden is proven for which one of the spouses received family allowances. ";
Paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
"The declaration of absence in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code is proof of death. The absent spouse is expected to have died on the date of the transcript in the civil records of the declarative judicial decision of absence cast as a force of trial. ".
Art. 37. In Article 8, § 1^er the same order, replaced by the Act of 25 April 2014, the sentence "In other cases, the transitional allowance shall take place on the first day of the month following the month in which the application is filed" shall be replaced by the sentence "In other cases, the transitional allowance shall take place on the first day of the month following the month in which the application is filed, for the period fixed under section 8ter and
Art. 38. In Article 8bis, § 1^erParagraph 1^er, 2^e From the same order, inserted by the law of 25 April 2014, the words "a child was" are repealed.
Art. 39. In section 8ter of the same order, inserted by the law of 25 April 2014, the following amendments are made:
1° in paragraph 3, the words "in accordance with the provisions of articles 8 to 8quinquies" are replaced by the words "in accordance with the provisions of articles 8 and 8bis and this article";
2° the article is supplemented by a paragraph 4, which reads as follows:
§ 4. The surviving spouse, who has been united by successive marriages, may not accumulate a transitional allowance granted under this Order with a survival pension or benefit taking place on the charge of a Belgian or foreign regime. In this case, he chooses between the two benefits and this choice is final".
Art. 40. In section 8quater of the same order, inserted by the Act of 25 April 2014, the following amendments are made:
1st paragraph 1^er is replaced by the following:
"The surviving spouse, who has benefited or could have benefited from a transitional allowance in accordance with the provisions of sections 8 to 8ter, may be entitled to a survival pension under sections 4 to 6, when the surviving spouse benefits from a Belgian pension plan or benefits from a retirement pension for health or physical incapacity in the public sector, provided that the surviving spouse is not remarried ";
2° in paragraph 2, the 3° is replaced by the following:
"3° at the legal age of the Belgian pension when the surviving spouse does not justify a personal professional career. ".
Art. 41. In article 13 of the same order, replaced by the Royal Decree of 30 March 1982, the words "Retirement and Survival Pension" are replaced by the words "Retirement Pension, Survival Pension and Transition Allowance".
Art. 42. In article 18 of the same order, as amended by the Royal Decree of 30 March 1982, the words "retirement pension and survival pension" were replaced by the words "retirement pension, survival pension and transitional allowance".
Art. 43. In section 30bis, of the same order, last amended by the Act of 25 April 2014, paragraph 1^er is replaced by the following:
"Subject to the application of paragraph 2, the benefits referred to in this chapter shall be payable only if the beneficiary does not have a professional activity and does not have an allowance because of illness, disability, involuntary unemployment by application of Belgian or foreign social security legislation or a status applicable to the staff of an international public law institution, or an allowance for reasons of career interruption,
Art. 44. In article 7bis of the Royal Decree of 30 January 1997 on the pension plan for self-employed persons pursuant to articles 15 and 27 of the Act of 26 July 1996 on social security modernization and ensuring the viability of the legal pension schemes and article 3, § 1^er, 4° of the law of 26 July 1996 to fulfil the budgetary conditions of Belgium's participation in the European Economic and Monetary Union, inserted by the law of 25 April 2014, the following amendments are made:
1° paragraph 1^er is supplemented by a paragraph that reads as follows:
"The King shall determine for the purposes of this paragraph what is to be heard by full-time equivalent days as an independent worker. ";
Paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
"§2. The King sets out the terms and conditions for opening the right to the transition allowance and the amount of the transition allowance when the spouse died before 1^er January of the year of its 21^ème birthday."
Art. 45. In section 9bis of the same order, inserted by the law of 25 April 2014, the following amendments are made:
(1) Paragraph 8 is repealed;
2° Paragraph 9, whose current text will form paragraph 8, is replaced by the following:
§ 8. Book III, Title IIbis, of the law of May 15, 1984 is not applicable to the transitional allowance".
CHAPTER 4. - Entry into force
Art. 46. Article 28, 2°, produces its effects on 1^er January 2014.
Article 28, 3°, produces its effects on 1^er January 2014.
Articles 34, 3 and 35 to 45 produce their effects on 1^er January 2015.
Part 5. - Provision on the transition allocation of workers and self-employed workers
CHAPTER 1^er. - Amending provision
Art. 47. In section 187 of the Program Law (I) of 24 December 2002, the following amendments are made:
1° it is inserted a 1° /1 written as follows:
"1° /1. the transitional allowances granted in the pension scheme of employed workers;"
2° it is inserted a 6° /1 written as follows:
"6° /1. the transition allowances granted in the pension plan for self-employed persons; "
CHAPTER 2. - Entry into force
Art. 48. This title is effective 1^er January 2015.
Part 6. - Provision on the transition allocation of employees, self-employed workers and the public sector
CHAPTER 1^er. - Amending provision
Art. 49. In section 296 of the Program Law (I) of 27 December 2006, the following amendments are made:
1° in § 1^er, 1°, the words "and transitional allowances" are inserted between the words "retirement and survival pensions" and the words "dependant on the pension plan of wage workers";
2° in paragraph 1^er, 2°, the words "transition allowances" are inserted between the words "retirement and survival pensions" and the words "and divorced spouse pensions";
3° in paragraph 1^er, 3°, the words "and transition allowances" are inserted between the words "retirement and survival pensions" and the words "in charge of the public treasury";
4° in paragraph 2, it is inserted as follows:
"1° /1. pension: benefits referred to in paragraph 1^er".
CHAPTER 2. - Entry into force
Art. 50. This title is effective 1^er January 2015.
Promulgate this Act, order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given to Poitiers, August 10, 2015.
PHILIPPE
By the King:
The Minister of Pensions,
D. BACQUELAINE
Minister of Independents,
W. BORSUS
Seal of the state seal:
Minister of Justice,
K. GEENS
____
Note
(1) House of Representatives
(www.lachambre.be)
Documents: 0069 - 54-1180
Full report: 23 July 2015