Local pension contribution increased to 45.50% for 2027 to 2029

The basic pension contribution rate of the Solidarity Pension Fund for Provincial and Local Administrations is increased from 45.00% to 45.50% for the years 2027, 2028, and 2029. The decision is set out in the Royal Decree of September 23, 2026, published in the Belgian Official Gazette of October 1, 2026, page 52586, under the official reference 2026/202593. The text is signed by King Philippe and countersigned by the Minister of Pensions, J. Jambon.

The legal basis and the reason invoked

The decree is issued in execution of Article 16, paragraph 1, 1), of the Law of October 24, 2011, ensuring sustainable funding for the pensions of permanently appointed staff of provincial and local administrations and local police zones, which amends the Law of May 6, 2002, establishing the pension fund for the integrated police.

The preamble recalls that the basic pension contribution rate had been set at 45.00% for the years 2025 and 2026. It justifies the increase by the budgetary situation of the fund, which “requires that the basic pension contribution rate be increased to 45.50% for the years 2027, 2028, and 2029.”

The same preamble specifies the scheduling logic: the rate must be known to the administrations affiliated with the fund for the next three years, so that pursuant to Article 16, paragraph 1, 1), of the 2011 Law, it must be fixed up to and including 2029.

A procedure marked by prior opinions

The file was processed by the Federal Public Service Social Security, the section under which the decree is published. The formal steps mentioned in the text are as follows:

• Opinion of the Pension Management Committee for Provincial and Local Administrations of the Federal Pensions Service, issued on August 31, 2026.
• Opinion of the Inspector of Finance, issued on September 9, 2026.
• Agreement of the Minister of Budget, given on September 16, 2026.
• Proposal by the Minister of Pensions and opinion of the ministers meeting in Council.
• Exemption from regulatory impact analysis, in application of Article 8, § 1, 4°, of the Law of December 15, 2013, containing various provisions concerning administrative simplification, as the project is qualified as self-regulatory provisions.

What the operative part establishes

The decree contains only two articles. The first sets the basic pension contribution rate of the fund at 45.50% for the three financial years concerned; the second charges the minister responsible for Pensions with the execution of the text.

In concrete terms, the mechanism applies to the administrations affiliated with the fund, namely provincial and local administrations as well as the local police zones referred to in the 2011 law. The increase of 0.50 percentage points is added to the increase already decided for the 2025-2026 period and extends over a three-year horizon, up to and including 2029.

Scope for local authorities

For affiliated municipalities, provinces, and local police zones, the basic pension contribution constitutes a mandatory personnel cost, the rate of which is now known and stable for 2027, 2028, and 2029. The shift from 45.00% to 45.50% mechanically increases the cost of the pensionable payroll of these entities over three budget years, with no room for local negotiation since the rate is determined by the King.

Publication in the Belgian Official Gazette on October 1, 2026, makes the standard enforceable and provides the concerned administrations with the numerical basis necessary for their multi-year budget projections.

Source: Belgian Official Gazette of October 1, 2026, royal decree of September 23, 2026, p. 52586, reference 2026/202593.