On October 15 the inter-professional social dialogue body bringing together employers and trade unions in Belgium – also referred to as “the group of 10” - concluded a new agreement on the sensitive issue of guaranteed returns for second pillar pensions.
At present the Belgian Occupational Pensions Act requires a guaranteed return for second pillar pensions, i.e. a minimum return that the employer (or sector) must guarantee on premiums paid into second pillar pensions plans.
Given the considerable impact of the crisis on financial markets and as anticipated by BETTER FINANCE in its research report on the real return of European pension savings, these percentages fixed in 2003 - 3.25% for employer contributions & 3.75% for personal contributions - are no longer realistic.
The new agreement that will most likely come into force on the 1st of January 2016 will see these fixed rates replaced by a variable flat rate based on yearly market returns and delimited by a 1.75% floor and a ceiling of 3.75%.
The government is committed to fully implement the agreement.