Government drops plan to raise retirement age faster: NOS

The Dutch government has backed down over plans to raise the retirement age faster in the face of strong resistance from trade unions.

Social affairs minister Hans Vijlbrief dropped the plans after the major unions FNV, CNV and VCP threatened to stay away from negotiations on a broader social security deal, NOS reported, citing sources in The Hague.

The coalition agreement drawn up by D66, VVD and CDA included a plan to increase the state pension age, already one of the latest in Europe, in step with life expectancy. On current projections people now in their twenties would have to work through to the age of 72.

Union leaders accused Rob Jetten’s government of reneging on the pension agreement from 2019, which provided for the retirement age to go up by eight months for every extra year that people are expected to live.

They walked out of talks at the Catshuis, the prime minister’s official residence, at the start of March after 45 minutes, cancelled the annual spring negotiations with the government and employers, and warned of a summer of strikes unless the cabinet backed down.

Scrapping the measure would leave the government needing to find €2.7 billion in savings or tax rises to meet its budget targets.

Unions have also been critical of the government’s plans to cut the maximum term for unemployment pay from two years to one and to cut the long-term incapacity benefit WIA. Vijlbrief said he was prepared to revise his plans in consultation with unions.