News item | 28-01-2025 | 14:30
The cabinet is going to work on improving and simplifying the disability system. In the short term, the government wants to take measures to improve and simplify the system. For this purpose, the government looks at ideas from Variant 1 of the advice of the Independent Committee on the Future Disability System (Octas). The cabinet also paints an image for the long term, in which a number of ideas from the other variants are further explored and elaborated. Trade unions, employers, implementers and the people who are involved are involved in both the improvements for the short term and the long term. Minister Eddy van Hijum of Social Affairs and Employment writes this in a letter to the House of Representatives.
Minister Eddy Van Hijum: “I want a social security that works for people. That is too often not the case now. A system has been built in recent years that can only be understood for experts, but is incomprehensible for both the implementers and the people who are dependent on it. That must be different and better. The system must be a lot easier. But simplifying is not easy, there are no simple solutions. But we have to work on this, so that people feel heard, performers can do their work and the system becomes more human. ”
The minister agrees with the opinion of the Court of Audit that the current Work and Income according to Labor Capacity Act (WIA) has become impracticable. Recently there were also serious errors in granting this benefit. Too often unfairly unfair the current system. For example, people who are less than 35% incapacitated for work often no longer get to work and recoveries ensure a lot of uncertainty about income. The objective that the system would ensure that many people continue to work completely or partially is not achieved.
Minister Van Hijum, for example, is thinking of greatly simplifying the WIA by reducing the number of regulations within the law and looking more at what people can actually earn. In addition, the government continues to focus on a scheme for self-employed persons and is considered solutions for the target group that is not entitled to a WIA benefit in the current system due to a low disability percentage (the so-called 35-miners), but also no longer at work comes. The letter contains an elaboration of the various measures and a further estimate of the costs per measure.