Since 2013, the state pension age has been gradually increased. Until 2013, the Social Insurance Bank (SVB) would start paying the state pension once a person reached the age of 65. In 2021, those eligible for the AOW will have to wait until they reach the age of 67 before payments begin. After 2021, the state pension age will be raised in line with changes in life expectancy.
Planning for a later state pension
For those who are able to continue working until they reach the age of 67, there is, of course, no problem. However, for those who are unable to do so, an income gap may arise between reaching the age of 65 and the start of state pension payments. This gap can be partially bridged by means of a statutory bridging scheme, but that scheme does not usually solve the problem entirely. People aged 50 and over would be wise to assess – or have assessed – whether it is advisable to take measures to prevent or limit the consequences of the income gap caused by the later start of their state pension payments.
A clash with the ECHR?
For particularly distressing cases, a recent ruling by the Leeuwarden District Court may offer a solution. The court ruled that the case brought before it involved a disproportionately heavy burden on a future State Pension (AOW) beneficiary, as referred to in the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR). The case concerns a woman suffering from a number of chronic conditions that are progressive in nature. Due to these conditions, she had not been working for some time and had virtually no prospects on the labour market. According to the court, it is uncertain whether, upon reaching the age of 65, the woman will be eligible for social assistance without first having to “eat into” the value of her own home. The court ruled that she is unable to take measures to bridge the income gap caused by the delayed commencement of her state pension (AOW) and therefore quashed the SVB’s decision under which the AOW benefits are to commence later than upon reaching the age of 65.
It is likely that the SVB will lodge an appeal against the ruling of the Leeuwarden District Court. This means it has not yet been definitively established that, in cases of hardship, the AOW must still commence at the age of 65.