Many elderly immigrants in the Netherlands are financially vulnerable because they are not able to claim a full state pension, according to research by Dutch financial sector watchdog AFM.

Pensioners must live in the Netherlands for 50 years to be eligible for a full state pension (AOW) and given that many immigrants came to work as adults, they will have a substantial pension gap, the AFM said.

At the same time, many are not aware that they can claim extra cash (AIO) to make this up to the minimum income level, the AFM said, adding that some 40% of pensioners with a ‘non-western’ background currently live below the poverty line.

The AFM said the government should pay more attention to the particular problems faced by older immigrants, given the language barrier, and should make more people aware of the existence of the AIO.

The pension age is being increased in stages from 65 to 67. When the increase is fully implemented, an immigrant must have been in the country since the age of 17 to qualify for the same AOW as a native Dutch person who has never lived abroad.