Retirement Savings and Long-Term Savings
Pensioensparen en langetermijnsparen
Coverage
Voluntary Participation
- Everyone between the ages of 18 and 65 with taxable income in Belgium.
- Domicile: the person must be a Belgian national residing in Belgium or a resident of another Member State of the European Economic Area at the time the contract is concluded.
- There exist two different ways to save for retirement: a ‘pension savings account’ without a minimum guaranteed return and a ‘pension savings insurance’ with an insurance company and with an annual minimum return plus any profit distribution.
Financing
General finances
- Fully funded personal pension plans based on personal contributions and capital revenues.
Contribution payments
- No fixed minimum contribution payments, but maximum amount of contribution payments; maximum amounts vary with scheme type.
State support & incentivising strategies
- Yearly contribution payments (maximum amounts) lead to a tax reduction.
- The ‘classic’ scheme: a maximum of EUR 980 of contribution payments with a tax reduction of 30% (plus municipal tax).
- The ‘new’ scheme: a maximum of EUR 1,260 of contribution payments with a tax reduction of 25% (plus municipal tax).
- Long-term savings: maximum premium calculated on the basis of the net taxable professional income, with an absolute upper limit of EUR 2,390 payments per year; settlement of other tax benefits related to the repayment of a mortgage loan; fixed return guaranteed; tax benefit of 30% on paid premiums.
Administration
- With the banks and insurance companies active on the Belgian market.
- The ‘Financial Services and Market Authority’ (FSMA) monitors the various financial products offered by the institutions.
Qualifying Conditions
- The savings account or savings insurance has a term of at least 10 years.
- The person must pay premiums.
Benefits
Pension payments
- Accumulated capital through contribution payments and investment yields, minus administra-tion costs/fees.
Taxation and social security contributions
- An anticipative one-off tax of 8% (as a counterbalance to the tax benefit on premiums) is paid in advance on the capital saved and is automatically withheld by the bank or insurer; no other taxes payable on pension payments.
Coverage
Financing
Administration
Qualifying Conditions
Benefits
Voluntary Participation
- Everyone between the ages of 18 and 65 with taxable income in Belgium.
- Domicile: the person must be a Belgian national residing in Belgium or a resident of another Member State of the European Economic Area at the time the contract is concluded.
- There exist two different ways to save for retirement: a ‘pension savings account’ without a minimum guaranteed return and a ‘pension savings insurance’ with an insurance company and with an annual minimum return plus any profit distribution.
General finances
- Fully funded personal pension plans based on personal contributions and capital revenues.
Contribution payments
- No fixed minimum contribution payments, but maximum amount of contribution payments; maximum amounts vary with scheme type.
State support & incentivising strategies
- Yearly contribution payments (maximum amounts) lead to a tax reduction.
- The ‘classic’ scheme: a maximum of EUR 980 of contribution payments with a tax reduction of 30% (plus municipal tax).
- The ‘new’ scheme: a maximum of EUR 1,260 of contribution payments with a tax reduction of 25% (plus municipal tax).
- Long-term savings: maximum premium calculated on the basis of the net taxable professional income, with an absolute upper limit of EUR 2,390 payments per year; settlement of other tax benefits related to the repayment of a mortgage loan; fixed return guaranteed; tax benefit of 30% on paid premiums.
- With the banks and insurance companies active on the Belgian market.
- The ‘Financial Services and Market Authority’ (FSMA) monitors the various financial products offered by the institutions.
- The savings account or savings insurance has a term of at least 10 years.
- The person must pay premiums.
Pension payments
- Accumulated capital through contribution payments and investment yields, minus administra-tion costs/fees.
Taxation and social security contributions
- An anticipative one-off tax of 8% (as a counterbalance to the tax benefit on premiums) is paid in advance on the capital saved and is automatically withheld by the bank or insurer; no other taxes payable on pension payments.
Legal Basis: Income Tax Code (Wetboek Inkomstenbelasting 1992).