Cabinet won’t scrap state pension age hike before discussing alternatives

The Dutch cabinet will not immediately scrap a plan to speed up the rise of the state pension age (AOW) and will first discuss alternative ways to cover the costs of population aging, following strong political opposition in the Eerste Kamer.

The dispute centers on how closely the AOW retirement age should follow life expectancy. Under the coalition agreement, D66, VVD, and CDA support a direct link: if average life expectancy rises by one year, the AOW age would increase by one year.

That differs from the current system set out in the 2019 Pension Agreement, reached between the government, employers, and trade unions. Under that deal, a one-year rise in life expectancy results in an eight-month increase in the retirement age.

Opposition to the faster increase is broad. PRO, previously GroenLinks-PvdA, senator Paul Rosenmöller said the Pension Agreement should remain in place, arguing it already ensured the costs of aging remain manageable.

BBB, ChristenUnie, PVV, Party for the Animals, Forum for Democracy, and PRO all supported a motion to reject the acceleration plan.

According to NOS, Prime Minister Rob Jetten said during the debate that the faster increase “as a measure in itself cannot count on a majority” in either the Tweede Kamer or Eerste Kamer. A month earlier, after talks in the lower house, the cabinet had already agreed to pause the proposal and not formalize it in law.

At the same time, Jetten warned that the underlying pressure from aging remains. D66 senator Pieter van Meenen calculated that the number of workers supporting each AOW recipient has dropped from nine in the past to two today. Jetten said this “forces us to look at alternative routes through which this can be shaped” and confirmed that Social Affairs ministers will present new proposals “toward the summer.”