Raising the retirement age is expected to increase pressure on disability benefits for employees over the age of 60.
Plans to raise the AOW (state pension) retirement age more quickly could sharply increase the number of workers over 60 entering disability benefits, according to projections from the UWV (Employee Insurance Agency).
Coalition parties D66, CDA, and VVD want to link the AOW age directly to life expectancy from 2033 onward. This would accelerate the increase toward age 70. A UWV spokesperson confirmed reports published by De Telegraaf and Trouw that this change would push more older workers into the WIA (work and income according to labor capacity) disability scheme.
Under the current system, the AOW age rises by eight months for every extra year of life expectancy. The proposed one-to-one link would move the age upward faster. The UWV estimates that for every three-month increase in the retirement age, several hundred additional people aged 60 and above would enter the WIA program.
Recent trends already show a rise in WIA applications among older workers. According to the UWV, extending working life increases the chance of illness or physical limitations that prevent people from continuing their jobs. For every month the AOW age goes up, the number of over-60s entering the WIA scheme grows by an average of 0.2 percent.
Although WIA costs would rise, AOW payments would fall. Overall, the government expects net savings, with long-term structural savings projected at nearly 2.8 billion euros per year by 2060. The impact will not be immediate, as the AOW age is fixed until 2031 and future increases depend on how life expectancy develops.