Belgium pensioners State pension

[Ivanhoe]

Belgian pensions are still linked to earnings and pay vacation money in May.

A man born 07.03.1943, has worked as a blue collar worker from age 20 till 65 and retires 01.04.2008.
His carreer stretches 45 years. He is married, his wife does not work and he has no social benefits, his pension is 15,603.19 EURO / £ 13,460.62 per year (£ 258.86 per week) and coupled to the Index with an extra Vacation bonus in May of 711,01 EURO / £  613.37.

For anyone who does not have a career or enough working years to qualify there is the guaranteed minimum pension of 11,707.19 EURO / £ 10,099.60 (value as of 01.09.2008)

[Papaumau]

I think you will find Ivanhoe, that most of the state pensions in the established European states are connected in ratio to the average wages in those countries.

The Scandinavian pension funds are the richest pension funds in the world next to the California state pension fund and they have been generated mainly by taxes raised directly from oil revenues.

As much of the oil revenues that we have earned from North sea output have been squandered away in wasteful government spending over the past twenty or more years this British government does not have a state pension fund that will pay it's citizens a decent basic pension.

Do we think that the new administration are going to sort this ?

I certainly do NOT !

[Ivanhoe]

The new administration could not care less about pensioners because they assume they have managed to brainwash the nation that the Defict is first priority.

Utter ballony.

[Papaumau]

I am with you on that one mate !

[Ivanhoe]

I thought you might be.