Supplementary pension harmonisation: the deadline is approaching. Is your organisation ready?
The clock is ticking for Belgian employers with different supplementary pension arrangements for blue-collar and white-collar workers. While 1 January 2030 remains the final deadline for eliminating differences based on employment status, an important sector-level milestone arrives on 1 January 2027. Employers should be assessing their position now and should not be waiting for the final deadline to come into view. This article explains the approaching milestones, the significance of the Constitutional Court’s judgment and the practical decisions employers should make now.
Authors: Siham El Asri & Nathalie Montoisy
Why is action needed now
Belgian supplementary pension plans often reflect the longstanding distinction between blue-collar and white-collar workers. As part of the gradual move towards equal treatment, differences attributable to this distinction must be phased out under the statutory framework. For employers, harmonisation may involve much more than a change to pension plan wording: it can affect contribution levels, budgets, workforce relations and the structure of benefit arrangements.
The timetable has two important milestones. Sectors are expected to complete their harmonisation work by 1 January 2027. At company level, remaining differences in treatment based on blue-collar or white-collar status must, in principle, be eliminated by 1 January 2030. Sectoral outcomes will therefore be a key input into each employer’s own roadmap.
In judgment No. 122/2024 of 14 November 2024, the Constitutional Court answered preliminary questions referred by the Brussels Labour Court of Appeal concerning the statutory transition for supplementary pensions. It found no violation of the constitutional and convention provisions examined in relation to the relevant provisions of the Law on Supplementary Pensions.
Importantly, the Court accepted that the legislature could provide a gradual transition for differences historically rooted in the distinction between blue-collar and white-collar workers. The ruling therefore supports the legal basis for the transitional framework, including its temporary limitations on legal challenges to certain historical differences. It does not give employers a general exemption from equal-treatment obligations, nor does it relieve them of the need to complete harmonisation by the statutory deadline.
The practical message is clear: the Court has not created a new deadline or a reason to postpone action. It has provided greater certainty about the phased approach within which employers must act.
What should employers do?
An effective harmonisation exercise starts by translating the legal requirements and sector-level developments into a clear, costed plan.
From 1 January 2030, unequal treatment based solely on blue-collar or white-collar status will, in principle, no longer be permitted. Employers should use the remaining time to assess potential gaps and implementation options.
Employers should therefore take the following steps:
- Make an inventory of all supplementary pension arrangements, including legacy plans arising from mergers or acquisitions.
- Identify differences that are attributable to blue-collar or white-collar status and assess them against the applicable legal and sectoral framework.
- Model the financial and actuarial impact of alternative harmonisation scenarios, including their longer-term cost.
- Follow relevant sectoral agreements and determine what they mean for the organisation’s own choices.
- Plan the required governance, employee communication and social dialogue, allowing time for implementation.
For businesses that have grown through mergers or acquisitions, the review can be particularly complex because several legacy pension arrangements may need to be assessed together.
Why postponement creates risk
Harmonisation can involve actuarial analysis, legal review, involvement of representative bodies and operational changes with pension providers. These activities take time, particularly where several plans or business units are involved. Delaying the assessment may reduce the options available and increase the risk of rushed decisions, unanticipated costs or implementation difficulties.
The Court’s ruling provides clarity about the transitional framework, not an extension of the timetable. Employers must now move from legal interpretation to implementation, taking sectoral arrangements into account.
Employers that begin now can make deliberate choices about the future design and affordability of their supplementary pension arrangements, rather than simply reacting to an approaching deadline.
Our pension and reward specialists can help assess existing arrangements, identify gaps, quantify the cost of potential solutions and translate sectoral developments into a practical harmonisation roadmap.
Do not leave harmonisation until the deadline is near. Contact our team to discuss a practical roadmap for your supplementary pension arrangements.
[1] Constitutional Court, judgment No. 122/2024 of 14 November 2024 (preliminary ruling).
