News item | 02-02-2024 | 2:00 PM
Job-seeking people over 60 who have difficulty finding a new job can also count on an appropriate safety net in the coming years. The government wants to extend the Income Provision for Older Unemployed Act (IOW) by four years. The Council of Ministers has agreed to the proposal of Minister Van Gennip of Social Affairs and Employment to send this amendment to the House of Representatives.
People over 60 are at greater risk of long-term unemployment. Therefore, if they were older than 60 years and 4 months when they became unemployed, they can apply for IOW benefits after their WW or WGA benefits have expired. This prevents older unemployed people from having to fall back on social assistance and dip into their savings or eat home in the years before they are entitled to state pension.
Minister Van Gennip: “With the extension of the IOW, we will also provide an appropriate safety net in the coming years for people over sixty who lose their job and find it difficult to find work again. In the meantime, we continue to work with social partners to improve the position of seniors in the labor market. That is important for them and for our society.”
If the House of Representatives and Senate agree, the proposal will come into effect retroactively on January 1, 2024. In the meantime, older unemployed people can apply for the IOW benefit if they are entitled to it after the end of the WW or WGA.
The extension of the IOW was announced last year by Minister Van Gennip when presenting the package of reforms for the labor market.