News item | 09-11-2022 | 08:26
The age at which Dutch people are entitled to AOW will increase by three months in 2028 to 67 years and three months. This is what Minister Schouten for Poverty Policy, Participation and Pensions writes in a letter to the House of Representatives. The automatic increase in the state pension age follows from the life expectancy that Statistics Netherlands (CBS) expects in 2028. For the years 2024 to 2027, the state pension age will remain at 67 years.
In 2019, it was agreed in the Pension Agreement that the state pension age would increase less rapidly. Until then, the state pension age rose one to one along with life expectancy. It has now been laid down in law that for every 4.5 months that the Dutch are expected to live longer, the state pension age will automatically increase by 3 months. This is done on the basis of the annual CBS forecast for the remaining life expectancy of 65-year-olds.
To determine the state pension age, the law looks five years ahead. Last year, CBS expected 65-year-olds to have a life expectancy of 20.93 years by 2027. That was higher than in previous years, but not enough for an automatic increase in the state pension age. The state pension age therefore remained 67 years. This year, 65-year-olds are expected to have a life expectancy of 21.05 years by 2028. The state pension age will therefore increase to 67 years and three months.
Life expectancy has increased by about a month every year since the AOW was introduced in 1957. During the corona pandemic over the past two years, more people have died than normal and life expectancy has fallen, but CBS expects life expectancy to return to its previous level soon. The prognosis of life expectancy is part of the annual population prognosis of Statistics Netherlands. This describes the most likely future development of the Dutch population.