New government has its own ideas on pension age increase

The cabinet is not planning to take over all of a plan to raise the pension age to 66 worked out by unions and employers because it will be too expensive, the NRC reports on Friday.

Instead, social affairs minister Henk Kamp wants to introduce the rise as part of a broad package of work-related measures, including wage moderation, increasing the number of people in work and encouraging people to stay in work longer.
‘We cannot take over the entire agreement because it contains too many snags,’ Kamp said in an interview with the paper. In particular, the unions and employers’ suggestion that pensions
rise in line with average wages will cost too much, he said.
Unions and employers have said they want the government to take over the deal in its entirety to ensure their support. ‘A state pension which keeps its value is very important,’ an FNC spokesman told the paper.
The union and employer plan envisages a further rise to 67 if life expectancy continues to increase. Kamp said he thinks this will be unavoidable.