On 13 May 2015, the act of 28 April 2015 on provisions regarding pensions in the public sector was published in the Official Gazette. This act amends the rules relating to the study bonus, the pension bonus and the cumulation of public sector pensions with professional income. We will also briefly mention the judgment of the Court of Cassation of 9 March 2015 on the specific contribution of 8.86% on supplementary pensions.
Study bonus
The study bonus entails that, for statutory personnel, certain years of study are taken into account in calculating the career duration required for entitlement to receive a retirement pension and in calculating the amount of the pension. Under the act of 28 April 2015, it is no longer possible to take the study bonus into account in order to determine the right to a pension. The abolition will be fully implemented for pensions starting as from 1 January 2030. A transitional regime is provided for pensions starting between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2029. The amendments only relate to the calculation of the career duration required for the right to a pension. The calculation of the amount of the pension remains the same.
Pension bonus
As is already the case in the regulation for employees and the self-employed, the pension bonus for statutory personnel is abolished as from 1 January 2015. The old regulation will only continue to apply for statutory personnel who, before 1 December 2014, either meet the conditions for entitlement to the early retirement pension (starting in this case on 1 December 2014 at the latest), or have reached the age of 65 and can prove a career of at least 40 eligible years of service.
Cumulation of public sector pensions and professional income
The regulation applicable in the public sector was also modified regarding cumulation of pensions with professional income, as was already the case for employees and the self-employed. A person who benefits from a retirement pension based on employment as statutory personnel may, as of 1 January of the calendar year in which he reaches the age of 65, cumulate that pension with professional income to an unlimited extent. The unlimited cumulation is also possible if, at the time the retirement pension starts, at least 45 career years can be proved (see Eubelius Spotlights March 2015 for more details).
Specific contribution of 8.86% on supplementary pensions
In a judgment dated 9 March 2015, the Court of Cassation ruled on the question whether the payments made by an autonomous public-sector enterprise in connection with the supplementary pensions of the statutory personnel are subject to the specific employer's contribution of 8.86%. The court answered the question in the affirmative. The specific contribution of 8.86% must be calculated on all payments made by the employer in order to provide the contractual or statutory employed personnel or their beneficiaries with extra-legal benefits in relation to old age or premature death.