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🇧🇪 Belgium /Economy & Trade

More people are working past the legal retirement age. Here’s why

From La Libre Belgique · () French

Translated from French and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

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  • Workers aged 66 and over accounted for 2.03% of the workforce in the first half of 2026, up from 1.6% a year earlier.
  • Acerta said the number of active workers in that age group rose 24.4% in one year.
  • The pension bonus took effect retroactively from January 1 and appears to be attracting older workers to remain employed.

The new pension bonus appears to be persuading more people to keep working after reaching the legal retirement age. In the first half of 2026, workers aged 66 and over represented 2.03% of the workforce, compared with 1.6% during the same period a year earlier.

That amounts to a 24.4% increase in the number of active workers in the age group, according to Acerta. The organization said the rise was nearly four times faster than during the same period the previous year.

The number of people aged 66 and over who are active increased by 24.4% in one year.

· AcertaAcerta described the year-on-year rise in workers aged 66 and over.

The pension bonus entered into force with retroactive effect from January 1. The figures suggest that the measure is encouraging some workers to remain active beyond the legal retirement age.

Increased nearly four times faster than during the same period the previous year.

· AcertaAcerta compared the pace of growth in older workers with the previous year.
About this summary

Originally published by La Libre Belgique in French. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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