Number of people claiming Dutch state pension abroad set to grow

Nearly one in 10 people claiming the Dutch state pension live abroad and the number is expected to reach half a million in the next 15 years, according to the government agency responsible for paying it out.

The social security bank SVB said 3.7 million are currently eligible for a pension, of whom 340,000 live abroad.

Everyone who has lived and worked legally in the Netherlands is entitled to claim a state pension at the age of 67, but only those who have been in the country for 50 years receive the full amount.

Migrants who arrive during their working lives or Dutch nationals who move abroad are paid 2% of the full amount for every year they are eligible. Pensioners who receive less than the basic income level are entitled to a top-up payment known as the AIO.

The SVB said 56,000 people received the additional payment last year, while the number of households who were eligible for it grew by 35% in the last decade.

The upward trend is set to continue, with an estimated 4.6 million people expected to be claiming the state pension by 2040, of whom 470,000 will be living abroad.