Agreement reached on early retirement for people with physically taxing jobs

Trade unions, employers, and the government have reached an agreement on a permanent early retirement scheme for people with physically taxing jobs, Minister Eddy van Hijum of Social Affairs announced in a letter to parliament.

The new scheme makes it possible for people to retire three years before the state pension age if their profession is classified as physically taxing. Early retirees will receive an amount comparable to a state pension benefit, around 1,500 euros, plus an additional 300 euros up until they reach retirement age.

What exactly constitutes a physically taxing or heavy profession will be determined at the collective bargaining tables per sector. The scheme is mainly aimed at people with lower incomes and physically taxing jobs. Employers and unions will determine per sector whether an income limit is needed to prevent people with high incomes from using the scheme.

Because the Dutch labor market is tight and there are staff shortages in many sectors, the government wants to prevent that too many people retire early. The agreement, therefore, also states that employers and employees will work together to ensure that no more than 15,000 workers retire early per year to prevent a “culture of early retirement.” Earlier in the negotiations, that target was a hard limit.

Trade unions FNV and CNV are pleased with the result, though FNV said it still has to present the agreement to its members for approval.

“The most important thing we have achieved is that there is now finally certainty for people with heavy work who want to stop working earlier,” said Piet Rietman of FNV. “That proved impossible for decades and that it has now succeeded is entirely due to the willingness of FNV members with heavy work to strike.”

“A nice champagne moment,” said CNV chairman Piet Fortuin. “Finally, there is perspective for our members in a tough profession. The Netherlands has been spared from long-term strikes thanks to this agreement.”

Discussions about a new early retirement scheme have been going on since December last year. The current scheme expires in 2026. The trade unions demanded a permanent and more generous scheme.

Difficult negotiations resulted in strikes in various sectors. Police officers went on strike during football matches, and railway company NS and regional carriers faced work stoppages. New strikes were planned for this week, but the trade unions called them off when the negotiations started nearing an agreement.