Application of the European Code of Social Security by the Netherlands
53th Annual Report: General report 2020
(1-7-2019 - 30-6-2020)
The Government indicates that seafarers who legally reside in the Netherlands are entitled to social security protection for the following branches: medical care, old-age benefit, child benefit, and surviving relatives benefit.
It further declares that seafarers legally residing in the Netherlands and employed by an employer residing in the Netherlands, as well as seafarers legally employed by a foreign employer and working on a ship flying the Dutch flag, are covered for the following additional branches of social security: sickness benefit, unemployment benefit, maternity benefit, and invalidity benefit.
Non Dutch seafaring personnel are also statutory protected (Vereniging Zeerisico 1967). In case of illness seafaring personnel receives 80% of their daily wage for the duration of 52 weeks. In case of a job related illness or a job related accident, seafaring personnel receives 70% of their daily wage for a maximum of 3 years after the initial 52 weeks of illness. Furthermore there exists a compensation for medical treatment in their home country as well as a compensation for survivors.
I GENERAL
No important changes during the report period
A. Administration/ Organization
No important changes during the report period
B. Benefits
See new rates from 1 January 2020 in the relevant chapters in this report
II MEDICAL CARE
a) Changes made during the reference period
Innovations in treatment are added automatically throughout the year, without a need to change entitlements.
In the Health Care system, changes in entitlements are implemented at the beginning of each calendar year. The changes in 2020 are:
- For insured persons who need multiple days of outpatient treatment in a hospital/clinic which is not situated close to their home, reimbursement for overnight stay (non-hospital bed) is possible. An insured person can choose this instead of reimbursement for transport costs.
- In case an insured person needs a certain pharmaceutical and there is no reimbursement for the registered version of the pharmaceutical, more options for reimbursement of the compound pharmaceutical has been made possible. This means that a pharmacy prepares the pharmaceutical.
No changes have been made to co-payments. As reported last year, the compulsory deductible of in total 385 euro per calendar year will remain unchanged until 2021.
b) Changes decided for the following year/Research (including evaluation), completed
In 2021 there will be an evaluation of maximising the out-of-pocket payments for pharmaceuticals. More details in last year’s report.
III SICKNESS BENEFITS
No important changes during the report period and no changes foreseen.
IV UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
No important changes during the report period. No changes foreseen.
V OLD AGE BENEFITS
a) Changes made during the reference period
As of 1 January 2020 the statutory pension remained at 66 years and 4 months compared to 2019. The pension age will remain at 66 years and 4 months in 2021, rise by three months in both 2022 and 2023 and by another two months in 2024. As from 2025, it will be linked to life expectancy.
Benefit rates as from 1 January 2020.
|
Single pensioner |
€ 1270.67 gross per month |
€ 69.19 holiday allowance gross per month |
€ 25.63 top up gross per month |
|
Married pensioners or living together (amount per person) |
€ 870.03 gross per month |
€49.42 holiday allowance gross per month |
€ 25.63 top up gross per month |
b) Research (including evaluation), completed
In november 2019, a research on the additional income benefit for old age (AIO) was part of a research by the National Audit Office.
At the end of 2019, the policy evaluation old age pension was sent to the parliament.
VI WORK ACCIDENT AND OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE BENEFITS
Not applicable anymore
VII FAMILY BENEFITS
a) Changes made during the reference period
In the Netherlands, there exists one universal child benefit under the General Child Benefit Act (AKW) and one targeted additional child benefit (WKB).
AKW is a non-contributory benefit, not means-tested and not taxable. WKB is non-contributory, means-tested and not taxable.
AKW
The amount of the child benefit depends on the age of the child. One will get a higher amount when the child becomes 6 (85%), and again when the child becomes 12 (100%). The benefit is paid per quarter/ every three months.
Double amounts of child benefit (twice the basic rate) can be paid if the child is not living at home because of an illness, a disability or for education and the conditions of the General Child Benefit Act (AKW) are met.
Benefit rates as from 1 January 2020. Every 6 months the child benefit amounts can be adjusted to the price developments.
|
Per child (0-5 years old) |
€221.41 per quarter |
|
Per child (6-12 years old) |
€268.95 per quarter |
|
Per child (12-17 years old) |
€316.41 per quarter |
WKB
The additional child benefit WKB can be received by the parents for children up to the age of 18, if their income and their assets (capital) do not exceed a certain ceiling. The amount depends on the income of the parent(s), the number of children and the age of children. A couple of parents whose household income does not exceed € 38.181 receive the maximum amount of WKB. The benefit amount decreases as income rises. A single parent whose household income doesn’t exceed € 21.431 receive the maximum amount of WKB. The maximum yearly amounts of the WKB are for 1 child: €1,185. If there are 2 children: €2,190. If there are 3 children: €2,487. An additional amount is paid for the 4th child and further, this is fixed at €297.
The annual amounts are increased with €243 for children aged 15-15 years and €434 for children aged 16-17 years.
Single parents receive an additional benefit up to a maximum of €3,190 per year.
b) Changes decided for the following year
As from 1 January 2020 the maximum amount of an additional child benefit WKB that couples receive will be increased and differ from single parents. The exact amounts are mentioned above.
VIII MATERNITY BENEFTITS
No important changes during the report period. No changes foreseen.
IX INVALIDITY BENEFITS
No important changes during the report period. No changes foreseen.
X SURVIVORS’ BENEFITS
a) Changes made during the reference period
The benefits paid under the National Survivor Benefits Act (Anw) are financial support from the government for people whose partner has died and for children who are orphaned.
Benefit rates as from 1 January 2020.
|
Single survivor |
€1243.94 gross per month |
€84.61 holiday allowance gross per month |
€17.39 Anw top up gross per month |
|
Orphan (up to age 9) |
€398.06 gross per month |
€27.08 holiday allowance gross per month |
€17.39 Anw top up gross per month |
|
Orphan (10-15 years old) |
€597.09 gross per month |
€4.61 holiday allowance gross per month |
€17.39 Anw top up gross per month |
|
Orphan (16 -20 years old) |
€796.12 gross per month |
€54.15 holiday allowance gross per month |
€17.39 Anw top up gross per month |
b) Research (including evaluation), completed
In december 2019 the policy evaluation survivor’s benefits was sent to the parliament.
XI FINANCING
No major changes during the report period.
The income assessable for social insurance in respect of the levy of employee insurance contributions will be capped at €57,232
The minimum wage in January 2020 is €1,653 per month excluding the 8% holiday bonus.
Specific requests
on the application of the European Code of Social Security and its Protocols
by the Netherlands
Specific Request 1: Part IV Unemployment Benefit
In the previous conclusions, the Committee noted that to become entitled to a minimum duration of 21 weeks unemployment benefit, in accordance with article 24 of the Code, as amended by the Protocol, a person has to fulfil a qualifying period of at least two and a half years of employment, which is manifestly excessive in terms of article 23 of the Code and the current practice in the majority of the European countries.
The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary legislative measures to bring the national legislation on this point into conformity with the Code, as amended by the Protocol.
Answer
The government started the process of annulment of the relevant part of the Code; a request for advice has recently been submitted to the Council of State. Adjusting Dutch legislation to comply with part IV of the Code is considered neither realistic, nor desirable. Shortening the duration of the reference requirement requires major changes to our current unemployment benefit system, while at the same time the current system offers adequate and effective protection against the risk of unemployment. In the Netherlands, the granting of unemployment benefits depends on several factors, including history of employment. In addition, bringing Dutch unemployment legislation into line with the Code would result in a substantial increase in unemployment benefits in the Netherlands.
Specific Request 2: Part V Old age Pension
The Committee notes that the percentage required by article 26, 2 of the Code which allows the pensionable age of 65 years to be exceeded only if the number of residents having attained the increased age is not less than 10 % of the number of residents under that age but over 15 years of age, is effectively attained. Recalling that this statistical requirement will need to continue being met to justify a pensionable age above 65, the Committee requests the Government to continue providing statistical data on article 26, 2 of the Code.
Answer
The life expectancy of the population in the Netherlands continues to increase. Public facilities and provisions cannot be sustained in the future, without certain adjustments being made.
|
2020 |
2030 |
2050 |
|
|
0- 20 years |
3778137 |
3824183 |
4115193 |
|
20-65 years |
10243954 |
10381837 |
10317707 |
|
65 years- up |
3392507 |
4254763 |
4873027 |
|
total |
17414598 |
18460783 |
19305927 |
The percentage of over-65s in the population is set to rise quickly in the coming years. At the moment this age group accounts for 19 percent of the population, around one in five. In 2050 this will grow to an expected 26 percent, to around one in four. This increase will have consequences for pension spending and the costs of the state old age pension. At the moment there are three people in working ages (20-64 years) for every pensioner. In 2050 this will have dropped to just two people.
Specific Request 3: Part V Old age Pension
The Committee invites the Government to indicate whether a lower pensionable age has been set for persons engaged in particular arduous and unhealthy jobs, or whether the possibility of early retirement or special pre-retirement schemes exists for this group of workers.
Answer
The Dutch military has got a regulation for early retirement. There is no other group of workers in the Netherlands with an early retirement scheme.
Specific Request 4: Sanctions for misconduct
In view of the high number of cases, in which the payment of unemployment benefits was temporarily suspended or permanently discontinued in recent years on the grounds of article 678(k) and (l) of Book 7 of the Civil Code, the Committee reiterates its request to the Government to take legislative measures to amend section 24, 2 of the Unemployment Insurance Act where it refers to section 678(K) and (L) of Book 7 of the Civil Code, so as to ensure that sanctions are imposed only when the unemployment occurred due to wilful misconduct.
Answer
The Centrale Raad van Beroep (CRvB- Administrative High Court in the Netherlands) has recently ruled (7 November 2018) on section 24 (2) of the Unemployment Insurance Act. A judgment given by the Administrative High Court is final.
Section 24(2) of the Unemployment Insurance Act states that an individual who is discharged from employment for reasons that are considered to be wilful misconduct connected to work, is not eligible to receive a benefit. The employer must show that the employees actions rose to the level of wilful misconduct.
The CRvB has provided definitive guidance in declining an individual’s eligibility in specific situations involving a discharge for wilful misconduct. The following criteria need to be taken into consideration by UWV in determining wilful misconduct.
- Attitude of employee and seriousness of rule violation;
- Nature of work and the employment history between employee and employer;
- Personal situation of the employee, such as age and the consequences of termination of the employment contract;
- Previous work performance.
With these guidelines of the Highest Administrative Court, under current legislation, an adequate assessment can be made to ensure that sanctions are imposed only when the unemployment occurred due to wilful misconduct.
Specific Request 5 Part XIII Common provisions:
The Committee recalls that article 70, 2 of the Code requires that the total of the insurance contributions borne by the employees protected not exceed 50 % of the total of the financial resources allocated to the protection of employees and their dependants.
The Committee requests the Government to provide data on the share of the social insurance contributions or social taxes borne by the employees in comparison to total resources allocated by the different schemes in accordance with the table contained in the report form to the Code.
Answer
- The premium for the Disability Fund. This amounts to 6.77% + 0.5 percentage point of storage for childcare. This is paid in full by employers.
- The premium for the Work Resumption Fund. On average, this amounts to 0.52 % for the ZW and 0.76% for the WGA. This may be recovered half from the employee.
- The premium for the General Unemployment Fund. This amounts to 2.94% for temporary staff and 7.94% for permanent staff. This premium is paid in full by the employer.
- The premium for the Government Implementation Fund. This amounts to 0.68 % and is only paid by government employers. These employers pay the full premium.
For national insurance, the following premiums are levied on income from work and home (beneficiaries, freelancers and self-employed persons are also included):
- The premium for the General Old Age Pensions Act is 17.90%.
- The premium for the General Surviving Dependents Act is 0.10%.
- The premium for the Long-term Care Act is 9.65%.
Special temporary measures related to the COVID-19 crisis in the field of
social security
In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the Dutch government has taken measures to protect the jobs and incomes of as many people as possible. A range of emergency financial schemes for employers and self-employed people and also for flex workers are in place.
Three of the temporary measures are the Temporary Emergency Bridging Measure for Sustained Employment (NOW), the Temporary bridging measure for self-employed professionals (Tozo) and the Temporary Bridging measure for Flex Workers (TOFA)
Temporary emergency scheme for job retention (NOW)
If an employer employs staff and expect to lose at least 20% of his turnover, he can claim a grant towards wage costs under the Temporary emergency scheme for job retention (Tijdelijke noodmaatregel overbrugging voor behoud van werkgelegenheid; NOW). The employer can claim a maximum of 90% of the wage costs, depending on how much turnover he loses. One of the conditions of the current NOW scheme is that the employer doesn’t apply for dismissal of employees on economic grounds during the period from June 1 to September 30.
Self-employment income support and loan scheme (TOZO)
The Self-employment income support and loan scheme (Tijdelijke overbruggingsregeling zelfstandig ondernemers; TOZO) offers support for self-employed professionals such as sole proprietors, self-employed people with no employees (‘ZZPers’), partners in a general partnership or owners of a private limited company (‘DGAs’) who are experiencing financial difficulties due to the COVID-19 crisis. It provides for an additional benefit for living expenses if income falls below the social minimum due to the COVID-19 crisis and a loan for working capital to deal with cash-flow problems due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Temporary Bridging measure for Flex Workers (TOFA)
TOFA has been designed for flex workers who suffered substantial loss of income due to the COVID-19 crisis and who cannot claim benefits.
More information on the temporary measures on:
https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/coronavirus/country-responses/lang--en/index.htm#NL