A sensitive subject: the state pension age. The minority cabinet wants the state pension age to increase more rapidly in line with life expectancy from 2033. It is part of the almost 6.5 billion euros in cuts to social security.
With the plan to increase the state pension age faster, the Jetten cabinet breaks with an agreement from the 2019 pension agreement. Trade unions then agreed with the government to support a pension reform in exchange for a slower increase in the state pension age. For every year that average life expectancy increases, people would now have to work eight months longer, not one year. That has to be another year now.
The plan sparked angry reactions from the unions. Jan Struijs (50Plus) also did not understand it: “You are breaking with a hard-won pension agreement. This was a promise from a previous cabinet.” He spoke about “reliability” of politics. Jetten sounded remarkably understanding and said: “I have also seen all the reactions. This will be one of the first topics that we will discuss with the social partners after we have stood on the platform.”
Live blog
Parliamentary debate on coalition agreement
Chamber in debate on coalition agreement – what is the opposition’s position?
The journalistic principles of NRC
