Pension Planning Belgium: Pillars, EIP, VAPZ, Tak21/23

📅 Last updated: 8 May 2026
 ·  🏷 Topic: Pension savings, EIP, VAPZ, IPT, tak21, tak23, four pillars
 ·  🇧🇪 For: English-speaking residents and self-employed in Belgium

What you’ll learn

• The four-pillar Belgian pension system, in plain English
• How pension savings (pijler 3) works: 1050 vs 1350, tax benefit, end-tax
• What EIP (group insurance / pillar 2) is and what to expect
• VAPZ and IPT for the self-employed — how they differ
• The choice between tak21 (guaranteed) and tak23 (variable)
• How your pension capital is taxed at retirement

1. The four pillars of the Belgian pension system

The Belgian pension system has four complementary pillars:

Pillar	What	Who
Pillar 1	Statutory pension — paid by the Federal Pension Service (FPS)	Anyone who has worked in Belgium
Pillar 2	Supplementary pension via employer / sector — EIP, group insurance, sector pension fund	Employees with a supplementary plan
Pillar 3	Individual pension savings — pension savings fund or insurance with tax benefit	Anyone can subscribe
Pillar 4	Free long-term savings — non-tax-incentivised, ordinary investments for retirement	Anyone

💡 Pillar 1 is, for most Belgians, insufficient to maintain working-life living standards. Pillars 2 and 3 fill the gap; pillar 4 is what you build on top via ordinary investing.

2. Pension savings (pillar 3): for employees and self-employed

Pension savings is the best-known pillar-3 product. You open a pension savings account at a bank or a pension savings insurance at an insurer, deposit annually up to a legal cap, and receive tax benefit on the deposit.

Legal caps for 2025–2026 (verify 2026 figures via Wikifin):

Choice	Maximum deposit	Tax benefit
Standard	€1,050 per year	30% tax reduction = €315
Increased (opt-in)	€1,350 per year	25% tax reduction = €337.50

Which is better for you?

• At €1,050: €315 tax benefit = effective cost €735 to build €1,050 in your pension pot.
• At €1,350: €337.50 tax benefit = effective cost €1,012.50 to build €1,350.

The increased plan gives you €300 more saved for an additional effective cost of €277.50. This is favourable once you save more than €1,260 per year (FOD Financiën — below €1,260, the 30% reduction on €1,050 gives a higher absolute tax benefit than 25% on a lower deposit). Above €1,260 you get more net capital, provided you can spare the extra €277.50 now and the long-term return compensates the 5-percentage-point lower rate.

⚠️ The increased option must be actively requested at your bank or insurer — typically via a separate declaration before 30 September of the calendar year. At some providers you must reconfirm every year. Forget, and the standard €1,050 stays in place.

Underlying form:

• Pension savings fund — a fund (often mixed: equities + bonds) whose value moves with markets. Higher return potential, fluctuations.
• Pension savings insurance (tak21 or tak23) — at an insurer.

For long horizons (25+ years), pension savings funds have historically been more favourable than guaranteed tak21 insurance, provided you can absorb the fluctuations.

3. Group insurance and EIP (pillar 2 for employees)

For most employees, pillar 2 takes the form of a group insurance (collective scheme for all or a group of company employees), or in some cases a sector pension plan subscribed collectively at sector level.

In addition there is the EIP — Engagement Individueel Pensioenplan: an individual pension commitment to one specific employee, on top of an existing collective plan (EIP cannot exist without the employer already having a group insurance or sector plan). EIP is rarer than group insurance and typically applies to executives or specific profiles.

Key elements:

• Employer pays a portion (varies widely by sector and employer — no statutory minimum); sometimes also employee contribution.
• Premiums deductible for the employer (no social security on the premium up to certain limits — the “80% rule“), plus a special RSZ contribution of 8.86% on employer premiums.
• Underlying form often tak21 or tak23.
• At statutory retirement age the capital is taxed separately (see section 6).

⚠️ Wijninckx contribution 2026: for high pension accumulation (above a defined threshold), the special contribution rose in 2026 from 3% to 12.5%. For high earners with large IPT/group insurance plans this is material — confirm with your pension adviser.

💡 Ask your employer for the pension regulation and the most recent annual pension overview — the latter is legally mandatory and shows your accumulated capital.

4. VAPZ and IPT for the self-employed

For the self-employed, two specific pillar-2/3 instruments exist:

VAPZ — Free Supplementary Pension for the Self-Employed:

• Regular VAPZ: premiums up to 8.17% of professional income, with a maximum of €4,086.34 for 2026 (RSVZ figure, confirmed via Practicali and Acerta; a planned increase to 8.50% / €4,251.39 is in preparation but not yet in force).
• Social VAPZ: higher rate of 9.40% with maximum €4,701.54 for 2026 (RSVZ figure, confirmed; a planned increase to 9.78% / €4,891.60 is in preparation but not yet published in the Belgian Official Gazette), including a solidarity package (death, disability). About 90% of Belgian self-employed choose social VAPZ.
• Fully deductible as professional cost (reduces both income tax and social security contributions — double benefit).
• Underlying form: tak21 or tak23.
• For all self-employed (main occupation) paying social security contributions as self-employed — including company directors working via a vennootschap (the premium can be paid personally or via the company as a benefit in kind — discuss the tax implications with your accountant).

POZ — Pensioenovereenkomst voor Zelfstandigen (for sole traders without a company):

• For self-employed working as a sole trader (without a company) and wanting to save on top of their VAPZ cap.
• As of 10 January 2026, the 4.4% insurance tax on POZ premiums has been abolished (NSZ / Amonis 2026) — making POZ fiscally more attractive.
• Not deductible as a professional cost (unlike VAPZ), but qualifies for a 30% tax reduction (under the pension-savings framework).
• Ask your social insurance fund for current rules and caps.

IPT — Individual Pension Commitment:

• For self-employed working via a company (e.g., BV).
• Premiums paid by the company, subject to limits via the 80% rule.
• Premiums deductible for the company (no social security on the premium within the rule).
• Higher cap than VAPZ (typically €5,000–€20,000+ per year depending on salary and existing pension rights).

For a self-employed person with a BV, VAPZ + IPT combined is often optimal: VAPZ up to your individual cap, IPT on top via the company. Always work this through with your accountant — the 80% rule and corporate tax impact make this complex.

5. Tak21 vs tak23: which underlying form?

For pillar-3 pension savings, EIP, VAPZ, and IPT, you often choose between a tak21 or tak23 form.

	Tak21	Tak23
Return	Guaranteed minimum 2.50% — applies only to pillar 2 (EIP / group insurance / VAPZ / IPT, WAP floor since 1 Jan 2025). For an individual pillar-3 tak21 pension savings insurance, the contractual rate of the insurer applies (typically 0.50%–1.50% in 2025–2026), with no statutory minimum (source: FSMA). + profit share	Variable, linked to underlying fund
Fluctuations	None	Yes (equities/bonds)
Expected return on 25+ years	Low	Typically higher
Risk	Virtually none up to insurer level	Market risk
Costs	Premium tax 2%* + implicit management costs	Same* + management costs of underlying fund (1–1.5%)
For whom	Want absolutely no fluctuations	Horizon long enough to bear fluctuations

General rule: if you have 20+ years to retirement, tak23 has historically been more favourable — but always calculate the all-in cost structure, since high tak23 management costs can erode the return advantage.

The 2% premium tax does not apply to pension savings insurance (pillar-3 individual via insurer — pensioenspaarverzekering) — these are exempt. For long-term savings (langetermijnsparen) the premium tax does apply (2% on every contribution — source: DefA Finance / Federale). Pension savings funds (via bank) are not subject to the premium tax. Confirm with your insurer which premium tax applies to your specific contract.

⚠️ Belgian tak23 since 2026: the new 10% capital gains tax applies to the underlying investments of Belgian tak23 contracts via fiscal transparency — except for products qualifying as pension savings or long-term savings. Tak23 is therefore not a clean escape route from the new CGT.

6. Payout: taxes at statutory retirement age

At retirement, your capital is taxed separately — not at your ordinary income rate.

Pension savings (pillar 3):

• 8% end tax on accumulated capital, due at age 60 (one-time levy on the “fictional” value at that moment). Tax-benefit-eligible contributions can continue until the end of the year you turn 64 — contributions in the year you turn 65 receive no further tax reduction.
• Withdrawing before 60 triggers higher withholding (33% or more depending on age) — strongly negative fiscal impact.
• If your pension savings contract started after age 55: the 8% anticipatory levy falls on the 10th contract anniversary, not automatically at age 60.

Pillar 2 (group insurance / EIP / VAPZ / IPT):

• Statutory retirement age — three cohorts (source: Wikifin / Liantis):
  • 65 years: born before 1 January 1960.
  • 66 years: born between 1 January 1960 and 31 December 1963 (statutory retirement age has been 66 since 1 January 2025; first payouts under this regime from 1 February 2025).
  • 67 years: born on or after 1 January 1964 (statutory retirement age already in force; first payouts in this cohort begin around 2031).
• At statutory retirement age:
• Employee contributions before 1 January 1993: 16.5%; from 1 January 1993 onwards: 10% withholding.
• Employer or company contributions (group insurance, IPT, EIP): 10% if you remained effectively active until statutory retirement age or completed a full career (45 years) — in both cases you must have remained effectively active during the three years immediately preceding the payout; otherwise 16.5%.
• Solidarity contribution since 1 January 2026: flat 2% (replacing the pre-2026 0%–2% tiered structure). From July 2027 an additional 2% applies on the portion above €150,000.
• RIZIV contribution 3.55% on gross payout amount.
• Earlier withdrawal (before statutory retirement age): higher rates — typically 16.5% or 20% depending on scenario and age.

💡 Working until your statutory retirement age (65 for pre-1960; 66 for 1960–1963; 67 for 1964+) makes a significant fiscal difference for pillar-2 capital: 10% vs 16.5% withholding on employer contributions. Early withdrawal can cost thousands of euros in extra tax.

7. Practical decision: 1050 or 1350?

A quick decision tree for pillar 3:

• Are you in the highest tax bracket (50%)? → Pension savings doesn’t reduce your taxable income (it’s a tax credit, not a deduction). The reduction of 30% on €1,050 or 25% on €1,350 is still €315 / €337.50 to you.
• Do you have 20+ years to retirement? → The increased ceiling is favourable long-term — €300 more in a fund with compound effect over 20+ years.
• Do you have room in your budget? → The extra net cost is €277.50 — can you spare it?

Indicative recommendation (not advice): saving less than €1,260 per year? Stay at €1,050 — the 30% reduction is then absolutely more favourable (FOD Financiën). Saving more than €1,260 and all three above are yes? Then €1,350 is typically the better choice. If any is no, stay at €1,050.

For the choice between tak21 and tak23 within pension savings: ask your bank/insurer for the difference in cost structure and historical return. Calculate the difference over your remaining horizon — a fund with 1% higher management costs costs you roughly 20–22% of final capital over 25 years (5% return, 1.2% fee; >25% mathematically unreachable).

Sources

1. Federal Pension Service — www.sfpd.fgov.be
2. Wikifin — Pension savings
3. FOD Financiën — Pension savings tax benefit
4. FSMA — Supplementary pensions
5. RIZIV — Solidarity contribution and Riziv contribution
6. INASTI/RSVZ — VAPZ for self-employed

All guides on this topic

Pensions in special situations

• Pension planning for expats in Belgium — pension options when you move to or from Belgium
• IPT pension commitment explained — the individual pension commitment for company directors, explained

Drawing down after retirement

• Decumulation after retirement — turning your investments into income once you stop working

Read also: the power of compound interest

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