“The Planning Bureau has calculated that the July reform package would have a limited impact on the cost of aging, somewhere between 0.1 percent and 0.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). The proposals we are currently discussing compensate for this and even go beyond budgetary neutrality,” the PS minister assures. She talks about a profit that can amount to 0.4 percent of GDP.
Maggie De Block (Open VLD) and Servais Verherstraeten (CD&V) criticized this idea from the majority. From the opposition, this criticism was shared by Wim Van der Donckt (N-VA) and Catherine Fonck (Les Engagés).
The minister clarified her intention: “I have also launched a proposal for the co-responsibility of employers with regard to the end-of-career issue. It is a proposal together with my colleague Pierre-Yves Dermagne (PS). Why this measure? The previous government raised the retirement age and drastically limited the possibilities for early retirement. People who have been placed on SWT (unemployment with company supplement) must also remain available for the labor market in an adapted manner. This puts considerable pressure on job seekers and older workers.”