On Wednesday 16 May, close to 55,000 people protested in Brussels against pension reforms proposed by Charles Michel’s government, while parts of the country’s public services, areas of transport in particular, responded to a call to strike. The protesters comprised civil servants, students, private-sector employees, Flemish and Walloons, and were expressing opposition to a reform bill which looks to establish a points-based pension system from 2025, as well as to certain criteria used to define hardship. The bill is currently being discussed at a national pensions conference, which brings together social partners and the Belgian government.
Belgian employees that came out to protest are demanding that the legal retirement age remains at 65, with the age set to increase gradually to 67 by 2030. They also underlined that Belgium has one of the smallest average pensions in western Europe. Belgian pension funds are currently having to deal with a rising number of retired people, an additional 120,000 each year, at a time when contributions are not growing at the same rate. Daniel Bacquelaine, the country’s pensions minister, defended
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