News item | 12-12-2025 | 4:00 PM
The disability system is at a standstill. Continuing on the same path is not an option. Major changes are urgently needed in implementation and in legislation and regulations. This is stated in the Interdepartmental Policy Research (IBO) on the Work and Income (Capacity for Work) Act (WIA). This report was presented to the House of Representatives today.
The report “Work on the WIA – towards a system that works again” recommends, among other things, that social-medical assessments no longer be carried out exclusively by insurance doctors and that stricter conditions be imposed on applications for reassessments. In addition, it is recommended to abolish the IVA benefit for new cases, because the assessments are too complex and time-consuming.
The report is an official investigation that was carried out independently of politics by several ministries, UWV, CPB and SCP. According to the report, the adjustments are necessary due to the increasing WIA influx, rapidly increasing backlogs and structural shortcomings in the system. These problems reinforce each other and lead to longer uncertainty for people and high social costs.
Increasing inflow
Over the past ten years, absenteeism due to illness and the influx into the WIA increased sharply again. Absenteeism due to illness is well above 5 percent – comparable to the beginning of this century. More than 60,000 people enter the WIA every year; around the introduction of the WIA there were approximately 35,000. The chance that a worker will end up in the WIA is now twice as high as just after the introduction of the WIA in 2006. The number of people who receive a benefit for total and permanent disability (IVA) has increased from 20% to 40%. A total of 600,000 people now receive WIA benefits. That is one in thirteen insured employees.
The increased influx can partly be explained by older employees working longer. This is because the retirement age has been increased and there are fewer options for early retirement. In addition, the average age of the working population has increased. Applications from people over 60 are also assessed to a limited extent.
More than 40% of the WIA inflow is related to mental disorders. This more often concerns young people and women. According to the IBO, this reflects a broader social development that is also occurring in other countries.
Increasing waiting lists
Without additional measures, the backlog at UWV could rise to almost 200,000 people waiting in 2030. The average waiting time would then increase to approximately three years. That is socially unacceptable. This is due to the increasing influx, the complicated assessment and the shortage of insurance doctors. It is expected that the number of insurance doctors will not increase in the coming years, but rather will decrease. The waiting lists and waiting times continue to grow.
Minimum basic package of measures
The IBO recommends a basic package of measures to reduce the pressure on implementation and improve quality, which a new cabinet must implement. Firstly, insurance doctors must be deployed in a more targeted manner. Some of their work can and should be taken over by other professionals. Secondly, unnecessary reassessments must be prevented by asking employers, or parties acting on their behalf, to substantiate a request substantively or to have them pay for a reassessment by UWV. Thirdly, the separate benefit for people who are permanently fully disabled (the Income Provision for the Completely Disabled (IVA)) must be abolished. These people will then receive a WGA benefit, just like people who are less than 80% incapacitated for work. When providing an IVA benefit, insurance doctors must assess and substantiate whether a person is permanently unable to work. That is extremely complex and time-consuming. This will also reduce the number of applications for reassessment and also increase financial sustainability. Finally, efforts must be made to promote prevention and activation, for example through stronger supervision, increasing support for reintegration from the WIA, and better support for employers when rehiring partially disabled people.
Additional policy options and policies that are not recommended
The IBO has also identified 15 measures that politicians can choose from. This involves adjustments within, but also of, the system. For example, focusing on returning to work. Or stop linking benefits to previous income and capping at the level of the minimum wage. This would be a fundamental change to Social Security as we know it.
Finally, the IBO does not consider it wise to reduce the obligation to continue paying wages in the event of illness for employers from two to one year: “This is one of the most powerful and successful policy measures to reduce absenteeism due to illness and subsequent disability,” the IBO quotes the CPB. This measure also leads to significantly higher waiting lists, more influx into the WIA and higher costs. In addition, many people reintegrate with their employer in the second year, while it is much more difficult to return to work while receiving benefits.