News item | 11-11-2022 | 15:47
The cabinet is investigating the possibilities for a one-off non-compulsory allowance for a group of elderly people from the Surinamese community. It concerns elderly people of Surinamese origin who came to the Netherlands prior to the independence of Suriname on 25 November 1975. These elderly people have not built up a full AOW because the years they lived in Suriname do not count towards the AOW build-up. They experience this as a great injustice, since Suriname was then part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Although it is not possible to repair the incomplete AOW accrual, the government wants to investigate whether a gesture of recognition is possible.
Minister Schouten for Poverty Policy, Participation and Pensions: “The conversations with the elderly from the Surinamese community made a deep impression on me. They experience great injustice in the issue of the incomplete state pension. I understand those feelings. That is why the cabinet is starting an investigation into a one-off non-compulsory allowance, as a gesture of recognition towards these elderly people.”
On 1 July 2021, the Sylvester Committee recommended that this group of elderly people be given an optional allowance in connection with their incomplete AOW accrual. The Council of State subsequently advised on 29 October that there are no legal grounds for repairing the incomplete AOW accrual. In response to that advice, the government concludes that there are no options for meeting the incomplete AOW accrual. Instead, the government is therefore investigating whether a one-off non-compulsory contribution as a gesture of recognition is indeed possible. The government wants to inform the House of Representatives about the outcome of the investigation in the first quarter of 2023.