Union leaders call for AOW age to be lowered due to lower life expectancy

Trade union leaders from FNV, CNV, and De Unie have stated in an interview with the Telegraaf that they are calling for the AOW age to be lowered. FNV board member Piet Rietman tells the newspaper that it is “really unreasonable” that the AOW age is not lowered after the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) has adjusted life expectancy.

People turning 65 in 2030 will have an average of almost 21 years left to live, the CBS reported on Friday. This is a fraction less than previously assumed. Minister Eddy van Hijum (Social Affairs and Employment) then announced that the state pension age will not increase in 2030. In 2028, the age for receiving AOW will be raised to 67 years and three months, and in the two following years it will remain unchanged.

Patrick Fey of CNV told the Telegraaf that it is “bizarre” that the AOW age will not decrease in line with life expectancy. "The government is saving 5 billion euros due to this persistent excess mortality and declining life expectancy. For that reason, the AOW retirement age must be reduced to 67 years. The current coalition is abandoning the AOW recipients with this, while it claims to stand up for this group," Fey told the newspaper. The trade union De Unie speaks of “a flaw in the law.”

It is legally regulated that the AOW age is not simply adjusted downwards if the CBS predicts in a new forecast that the Dutch will die earlier than previously assumed, Van Hijum explained on Friday. The idea behind this is to "provide everyone with certainty in time and prevent a yo-yo effect."