Pietro Milan from Drachten is 67 and receives a pension. But he has just registered with Uitzendbureau Rvaring and hopes to quickly find a job for two or three days a week. Because to “be able to live a little relaxed again” he needs at least 500 euros per month extra.
“I’ve even lost weight lately because I have to save on groceries,” he says. “I am Italian and used to eat pasta or tomato with mozzarella as a starter. But this year that is no longer possible. Everything costs gold money.”
Milan came to the Netherlands in 1974 and made a career as a chef. His pension benefit is now 260 euros per month. Together with his AOW, that is a net amount of about 1,000 euros. Quite a difference with the 3,000 euros he earned earlier, he says. “You work like a horse in the catering industry, but the pension is to cry.” He still tried to get the survivor’s pension for his wife released. “We need it now, not until I’m not with it. But of course that didn’t work.”
Milan is not the only retiree who has decided to return to work. The screeching inflation in the Netherlands is impossible for many to keep up with, even after the cabinet decision to increase the state pension by 10 percent. Many pension funds are also increasing their benefits, but that is nothing compared to the depreciation of money, which amounted to 14.5 percent in September.
What can you still do as a retiree? Save on groceries, yes, or spend the winter in Benidorm to cut back on heating. Or work. Earning extra after the state pension age has no consequences for the amount of the state old age pension or the supplementary pension. Also, someone of state pension age has to pay a lower tax rate over the first tax bracket, because there is no longer any need to pay AOW premium.
Also read: Continuing to work after retirement is becoming increasingly common. ‘I go to work whistling every morning’
According to Statistics Netherlands, the number of working elderly people is growing. Since 2003, the number of working people over the age of 65 has increased from 75,000 to 300,000 thousand in 2020. Today, more than 10 percent of 67 to 70-year-olds have a job.
Of the nearly 800,000 people between the ages of 66 and 70 that the Statistical Office counts as part of the workforce, 122,000 have paid work.
Fit longer
Jack Wiebenga, the 77-year-old owner of the Amsterdam employment agency Actief65+, received a record number of new applications from job seekers this year. Usually around 5,000 a year, he already counts 10,000. “Our clients do not depend on the big clock that it is becoming more and more difficult financially. But no matter how good your pension is, anyone who stops working will lose hundreds of euros.”
It is not only money that drives retirees back into the labor market. According to professor of pension sociology Kène Henkens, most people over 67 go back to work because they enjoy it. This applies to all levels of education, according to research by the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute in Groningen, to which Henkens is affiliated. People also stay fit longer, he says, which makes it possible to work longer.
But finances are an important motivator. After satisfaction, money is the most common reason for people to return to work in old age. Motives such as boredom or the need for social contacts only follow after that. “Now that inflation has only increased over the past ten years, the financial incentive will increasingly play a role in the decision to make a new start in the labor market as a pensioner,” says Henkens.
Menno Meijer also expects this from Rvaring, an employment agency that focuses on older staff – “over 40s and over 65s”. The latter group has clearly had the upper hand lately, he says. “And after the winter I will probably be even busier,” says Meijer. “Because when the gas bill falls on the doormat, the financial blow really comes.”
Whatever their motivation, as far as Meijer is concerned, the labor market must make way for people over 67. According to him, they are the best employees you can imagine. “They no longer have to make a career, don’t cancel appointments at the last minute, arrange their schedule among themselves and usually don’t drive vans down.”
Former chef Milan hopes his future boss feels the same way. “I like to do all kinds of things: warehouse work, stocking shelves, polishing cars or driving. Everything. As long as I don’t have to go back into the hospitality industry.”
Maya Schroeder (67), Amsterdam ‘I want to be able to keep my car’
‘I gave myself one year of pension, but this year I had to get back to work. Life is getting so expensive, especially this year I’m starting to notice it. I want to be able to keep my car and I am very concerned about gas prices. That is getting very out of hand. Now I’m just saving myself, but it’s definitely not a fat pot.
„For 35 years I have worked as a costume designer, the last 22 of which as a freelancer. I saved for my ‘old age’, but due to unpleasant circumstances and the last two years of corona I no longer have any reserves. That makes you vulnerable. That’s why I have to get back to work now to build a buffer. Fortunately, I am blessed with good health and a large dose of optimism, so I can certainly go on.
“Through an employment agency, I am now a hostess at the Public Education Foundation on the Amstel. I pick up the phone and make it cozy for everyone. At the moment I only work there one day a week, for 11 euros per hour. I would prefer to work for three days.
“The few hundred euros that I earn per month with this are very welcome. In addition, I like the work. I can work hard, but I don’t want a stress job anymore. In the theater I worked eighty hours a week. Now I also want to be able to enjoy a bit. It’s about time at my age.”
Hans (74, surname known to editors), Hoorn ‘The money has to come from somewhere’
‘I started as a ship’s carpenter when I was fifteen, then I became a carpenter in construction and then a detention facility employee at the judiciary. And then I retired. And then, well. What then?
“I have really enjoyed my retirement. I went on vacation, did some odd jobs around the house and with acquaintances. But then it starts to itch. Moreover, life became more and more expensive. My wife and I used to go camping twice a year. Certainly not an expensive campsite, you know, but the money has to come from somewhere. With a small state pension and a small pension, that became increasingly difficult.
“That’s why I started working again this year. Via Klusheeren, a handyman company for retired employees, I ended up at the technical service in a hotel in Amsterdam. For four full days a week.
“It’s fun work, but the days are very long. Especially traveling back and forth is becoming a thing at my age. I would like to work and earn some extra money, but it must remain fun. That’s why I’m going back to three days a week now.
“Thanks to the income – I earn 15 euros per hour – I have money left over for my hobby: the Japanese koi. A new koi easily costs 75 euros. And my wife and I can go to the campsite again.
“She also likes the fact that I am out of the house every now and then. A man who is at home doing nothing is not fun for anyone.”
Peter Neumann (69), Heerhugowaard ‘I wanted to be among people again’
‘I haven’t really been able to enjoy my retirement. At 66 years and three months I stopped working as a service technician at Canon. A month later I had a stroke, which caused my arm and leg to fall out. After my recovery from this, the trouble with corona started.
“Because of those years sitting at home, I started to miss social contacts. I wanted to be among people again. The fact that life is so expensive now gave me the last push. I notice it every day.
“Now I earn around 500 a month delivering wine. It’s very exciting work. Just try to get to the Rembrandtplein in Amsterdam in time by car.
“I only work one or two days a week, so I still have enough time to bump into all the shops for the best offers. For example, on Sundays I always go to the Vomar, where the orange juice is 1 euro cheaper. Then I immediately get enough bottles for the whole week.
“My wife works six hours a week at a snack corner. The extra money gives us a little more air. Now we can buy a new phone again, or go on a weekend away together.”