How to claim and collect your supplementary pension benefits? What about your state pension or hospitalisation insurance? Find out everything you need to know here.
Your benefits with the MyAG Employee Benefits app
Register and log in to MyAG Employee Benefits app to find out more.
You can then take advantage of its many benefits, including:
- detailed information about your covers and benefits as well as any changes in the status of your group insurance
- the projected net benefit amount that you'll be entitled to collect when you retire
- your group insurance-related information and documents such as your benefits statements
On this page:
Step 1: Claiming your state pension
When will you be eligible for statutory retirement?
Statutory retirement age in Belgium is currently 66 (with the exception of certain occupations subject to other rules). Your official retirement date is set on the first of the month following the day you turn 66. In other words, if your birthday is in February, you'll be able to retire on 1 March.
You can apply for early statutory retirement if you fulfil certain minimum age and years of service requirements.
Minimum age and years of service required for your desired early retirement date:
- 60 years old and 44 years of service
- 61 years old and 43 years of service
- 62 years old and 43 years of service
- 63 years old and 42 years of service
- 64 years old and 42 years of service
- 65 years old and 42 years of service
Winding down your career
Retirement doesn't have to be an abrupt change from a full-time job to a life of leisure. Some people switch to part-time employment, take a career break, etc. While these alternative paths into retirement are very popular, they do come with certain consequences for your statutory and complementary pension entitlements.
How to claim your state pension?
- If you retire at the age of 66:
You don't need to do anything. The National Pension Office (NPO) will automatically take all the necessary steps for you. - If you retire before or after the age of 66:
you will need to file an explicit request if you're planning to retire before or after statutory retirement age If you fulfil the age and qualifying years of service requirements, you may file your request to claim your benefits at your local municipal hall, directly with the NPO or online at www.mypension.be, up to one year before your chosen retirement date.
Not ready to quit working?
Just because you've reached statutory retirement age doesn't mean that you have to (completely) stop working. Maybe you'd rather keep on working? Over the past few years, the federal government has put incentives in place to keep people on the job beyond statutory retirement age:
- If you are 66 years old or have 45 years of service under your belt, you may continue to work as much as you want without affecting your pension entitlements.
- If you are under 66 or have less than 45 years of service, you may continue in paid employment after you retire. However, the income you earn from this activity must remain below certain maximum caps.
- These maximum caps have been set based on criteria such as your age and years of qualifying service as well as marital/family status, job profile, etc.
- If you earn more than these upper limits, your state pension for that calendar year will be reduced proportionally or even suspended if the earnings are more than 100% above the limits. For example, if you earn 20% above the limit, you'll have to pay 20% of your state pension back to the federal government the following year.
To find out more about working after retirement, go to the National Pension Office website.
Need a Certificate of Insurance? You can easily request it via the MyAG Employee Benefits platform or the app. More information is available in this "Practical Guide".
Step 2: Collecting your supplementary pension benefits
When can you claim your group insurance proceeds?
As payment of your supplementary pension benefits is linked to your state pension, you'll collect your supplementary pension when you retire, i.e. on your statutory (early) retirement date.
In some cases, you'll be allowed to draw on your group insurance proceeds earlier. To find out whether you qualify, it's best to check with your employer directly.
What steps do you need to take to collet your group insurance proceeds?
The NPO will notify us of your retirement date and will also provide us with the account number to which we may pay your supplementary pension (without notice from you) if you have provided this account number through MyPension. Once we have this information, we can initiate the different steps to release your group insurance entitlements to you.
Small amounts (under 150 euros indexed) are paid automatically to the account number where your statutory pension is paid - you do not need to take any steps yourself for this.
The video below walks you through the various steps. Please note that MyAG Employee Benefits (www.MyAGEB.be) replaces "My Global Benefits". The new name has not yet been updated in all videos. We apologise for the inconvenience.
Questions?
We understand that this information can seem complicated. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us via our contact form (top and bottom of this page). We'll get back to you as soon as we can.
Step 3: Continuing your hospitalisation coverage
Your corporate-sponsored coverage
When you retire, you'll not only be foregoing a monthly salary. It may also mean the end of your corporate-sponsored hospital plan, as many employees also have additional insurance coverage through their employer.But we can reassure you right away that you won't be left without a safety net. The legislation gives you the right to continue your corporate plan on an individual basis with the same, if not better, covers.
How to take out continuation coverage on an individual basis?
Your employer will inform you of the option to sign up for individual continuation coverage within 30 days of losing your corporate plan. You'll then have another period of 30 days to apply for individual coverage with your insurer. Make sure you apply by the deadline in order to keep the same covers.
If your previous corporate-sponsored hospital plan was with AG Employee Benefits, you can apply for continuation coverage by contacting continuation@aginsurance.be or by filling out the appropriate form.
Step 4: Reinvesting your group insurance proceeds
Retirement marks the beginning of a new chapter in your life. On the downside, you lose the security of a monthly paycheck. While there's always your state pension to fall back on, it's generally not enough to maintain your pre-retirement lifestyle. If your employer has had the foresight to take out a group insurance plan for you, you can cash in on this extra nest egg when you retire.
Before you retire, figure out for yourself how much you'll need to retire without worry or regret. Once you've monetised all these factors, you'll have a ballpark figure of how much you'll need to live the rest of your days in comfort. You may decide that you don't need to use any or just a small portion of your group insurance proceeds to achieve your retirement goals. If this is the case, reinvestment may be a good option for you.
Reinvesting your group insurance proceeds
Once they retire, many people opt to reinvest some or all of their group insurance proceeds as an opportunity to further grow their nest egg.
If you want to go this route, there is a vast array of investment products to choose from. For example, investment funds are very popular and often a wise choice. At AG, we offer all kinds of possibilities, depending on your investor profile. Some of the best known vehicles are Branch 21 and Branch 23 insurance products.
- The main benefit of a Branch 21 fund is the security of a guaranteed return. Profit sharing may be awarded as well, but this is optional depending on the results achieved by the insurer. Branch 21 is therefore a safe haven option if you're rather risk averse when it comes to investing your retirement nest egg.
- If you're willing to take on more risk, you may want to consider a Branch 23 insurance product, where your premiums and capital are invested in one or more funds with varying degrees of risk. It's up to you to decide how and where you want your premiums invested according to your risk appetite. The return on your invested capital will depend on fund performance.
In exchange for the higher risk associated with a Branch 23 investment and the fact that there is no guaranteed return, you get the potential for a greater return on investment.
If you were enrolled in a group insurance plan with AG Employee Benefits & Health Care, you can use the services of AG Ascento, AG Employee Benefits' end-of-career solutions provider, to reinvest your retirement benefits.
AG Ascento has come up with three solutions with varying investment horizons to further grow your supplementary pension nest egg.
Intrigued? Want to find out more? The AG Ascento team is standing by to provide you with individually-tailored reinvestment recommendations.
- Call 02 664 82 07
- Send us an e-mail at ascentosales@aginsurance.be