My pension in Belgium: how to find it from abroad

You worked in Belgium, then you moved on. Here is how to see your Belgian state pension and any workplace pension from wherever you live now, and how to apply when the time comes.

The short answer

Your Belgian pensions are shown together on mypension.be: the state pension paid by the Federal Pensions Service, and workplace pensions held in DB2P, the supplementary pension database kept by Sigedis. From abroad the hard part is logging in, because you need a Belgian eID, itsme or another secure key, and if you live outside Belgium your state pension will not start by itself: you have to apply. Our directory entry for the site is mypension.be.

Not sure whether you built a Belgian pension at all? Our free pension check tells you in about a minute.

Two pensions, two records

Belgium keeps two separate records for most people who worked there:

• The state pension (pension légale / wettelijk pensioen). The Federal Pensions Service calculates and pays it. Each year you worked in Belgium adds a fixed fraction of that year's capped and revalued salary. So even a few Belgian years leave a small monthly payment for life. It is not a refund of contributions.
• The workplace pension (pension complémentaire / aanvullend pensioen, often called the second pillar). This is a group insurance or pension fund your employer paid into, or a supplementary pension you built as a self employed person. Sigedis keeps the central database for these, called DB2P.

mypension.be shows both. If you cannot log in, you deal with each body separately.

How to log in to mypension.be from abroad

This is where most people living outside Belgium get stuck. The routes depend on your nationality and where you live.

Does my Belgian pension start automatically?

Only for people who live in Belgium. The Federal Pensions Service starts a pension without an application only if you retire at the statutory age, worked in Belgium as an employee or self employed person, and have lived in Belgium since at least 13 months before that age. If you live abroad, you apply.

When to apply: at the earliest 12 months before the date your pension should start, and at the latest the month before.

Statutory pension age, as the Federal Pensions Service sets it out by date of birth:

The government has agreed a further pension reform, and the Federal Pensions Service says the exact conditions are not yet known. Check its "When can I retire?" page before you plan around a date.

Where to apply from abroad

The Federal Pensions Service can also be reached from abroad by phone on +32 78 15 1765, Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 12:00 Belgian time, or through its contact form.

Finding a Belgian workplace pension

If your employer in Belgium had a group insurance or a pension fund, the details sit in DB2P. Sigedis describes it as the central database of supplementary pension data for employees and the self employed. You see your own entry on mypension.be, with the same login as above, and a personal overview is put in your eBox and on mypension.be once a year.

If you cannot log in:

1. Contact Sigedis through its contact page and ask what DB2P holds in your name.
2. Ask the employer (or whoever took it over) which insurer or pension fund ran its scheme in your years.
3. Check the pension fund: Belgian institutions for occupational retirement provision are listed in a public register kept by the FSMA, the financial regulator.

A tip for renamed employers. Belgian companies merge and change names often. Write down every name you remember, including the old legal form (NV, SA, BVBA, SPRL), and the city.

Step by step

1. Gather your details. Your Belgian national register number if you had one, employers and years, and the date you left Belgium.
2. Try mypension.be. Use the login table above. If you get in, check both the state pension part and the supplementary pension part.
3. If you cannot log in, ask directly. The Federal Pensions Service for the state pension, Sigedis for DB2P.
4. Check each employer. For every Belgian job, find out which insurer or fund ran the workplace pension.
5. Apply in the right window and the right place. Between 12 months and one month before your start date, through the route for the country where you live.
6. Once payment starts, watch for the life certificate. If you live in a country with no electronic data exchange with Belgium, you are sent a life certificate and must complete and return it within 30 days of receiving it. Not returning it can interrupt payment.

What to gather

• Your Belgian national register number (on an old eID card, payslip or tax letter)
• Every Belgian employer, with its full name then, legal form and city
• The years you worked for each, and any years as self employed
• Any name you worked under
• The date you left Belgium and the countries you worked in since
• Your old Belgian eID card, if you still have it
• Old group insurance or pension fund letters, even partial ones
• Your bank details in the country where you live, for when payment starts

When the free routes are enough, and when they are not

If you can log in to mypension.be, you may need nobody's help: both pensions are on one screen. It gets harder when you cannot log in, when your employer has been renamed or merged, or when you worked in Belgium and in other countries and do not know which ones hold something. That is the gap we work in. We identify which schemes and bodies are likely to hold a pension in your name and give you the route to each one. You sign and send any letters yourself. We give no financial advice.

More on Belgium: our Belgium country page. What official bodies have told us in writing is on our answers page.

FAQ

Can I see my Belgian pension on mypension.be if I live abroad?

Yes, if you can log in: with a Belgian eID and card reader, with itsme where it works in your country, with an activated email security code, or, if you are not Belgian, with a recognised European electronic ID.

Does my Belgian pension start automatically if I live abroad?

No. It only starts without an application for people who have lived in Belgium since at least 13 months before the statutory pension age, so from abroad you apply.

Where do I apply for a Belgian pension from abroad?

In the EEA, Switzerland, the United Kingdom or a country with a social security agreement, you usually apply through the pension institution where you live. Elsewhere you send a signed letter to the Federal Pensions Service in Brussels.

How do I find a Belgian workplace pension?

Workplace and self employed supplementary pensions are recorded in DB2P, the database kept by Sigedis, and shown on mypension.be. If you cannot log in, contact Sigedis or ask the former employer which insurer or pension fund ran its scheme.

When should I apply for my Belgian pension?

At the earliest 12 months before the date you want it to start, and at the latest the month before.

Is a few years of work in Belgium worth anything?

Yes. Each Belgian year adds a fixed fraction of that year's capped, revalued salary, which leaves a small monthly payment for life rather than a refund.

Start with the free check

Tell us where you worked and roughly when. In about a minute the free check shows which of your countries are likely to hold a pension, the free official route for each, and any date you need to know.

Run the free pension check

Want to see a full report first? Here is a sample report.

For pension funds and trustees: if your scheme holds members who left Belgium and cannot be reached, see for pension funds, for trustees and GPFR, the Global Pension Finding Register (register), free for people and for funds.

The PensionHunter Team