Nearly one in five Belgians is retired

The number of people in Belgium entitled to benefits from the National Pensions Office (NPO) increased last year to 1,938,773, or nearly one in five. That's 8.2% more than in 2010 and 2.26% more than in 2013, according to the NPO's annual report. The report shows that the federal government spends about €2 billion per month on pensions, writes De Standaard.

The number of new pensioners, however, was lower in 2014 than in 2013, due to the raising of the early retirement age, implemented by the pension reform plan of the previous government under Elio Di Rupo.

The report also reveals that the number of beneficiaries with an entire career as an independent has been on the decline for several years (from 111,132 in 2010, compared to 105,502 in 2014). The number of beneficiaries with an entire career as an employee, by contrast, increased by 7.74% since 2010.