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Unemployment Insurance in EU->Belgium->Changes in 2025
Changes to belgian unemployment insurance in 2025
The Government in Belgium have in 2025 made an agreement which will significantly change the Unemployment Insurance Scheme. This includes among other things that the duration of unemployment benefits will be shortened to a maximum of 2 years (instead of unlimited).
For now (as of 9 April 2025), the agreement still needs to be made into law. We will update our information about unemployment insurance in Belgium, if/when the changes are introduced.
These are the changes that can be expected
- We are introducing a fundamental reform and simplification of the degressivity of unemployment benefits. Anyone who becomes unemployed will receive higher financial protection during the first period than today through higher replacement rate and/or salary ceiling. As time goes on, the benefit will decrease more sharply than today. The duration of unemployment benefits will depend on the number of years previously worked. 1 year of work in the last 3 years will give right to 1 year of unemployment benefit. In addition, for every four additional months worked you will get 1 month extra benefit, so that after 5 years of work you are entitled to a maximum of 2 years benefit. We simplify the conditions and calculations (including reducing the number of phases) so the system will be less complex than today.
- The duration of unemployment benefits is limited to a maximum of 2 years. For short periods of interruption employment, the maximum duration is suspended for each day worked.
- We are also strengthening the conditions for exemption to the degressivity of benefits: the requirement for the professional history will gradually increase from 25 years today to 30 years in 2025 and 35 years in 2030.
- The 2 years limitation of unemployment benefits does not apply to people over 55 years of age, if they have a professional career of at least 30 years, and in each year have worked at least 156 days. This condition becomes gradual increased to 35 career years in 2030.
- We also foresee a fundamental reform for graduates. We limit the waiting time to 156 days after graduation within which the regional employment service gives two positive evaluations. This integration allowance must be applied for before a person reaches the age of 25. Integration allowances has a duration of maximum one year, suspended with the number of days worked.
- Once per career, employees who have had a career of at least 10 years of effective work can resign themselves without losing their right to unemployment benefit. However they will only have a right to 6 months of unemployment benefit.
Belgian words
Unemployment Insurance = Assurance chômage, werkloosheidsverzekering
Unemployment benefit = allocations de chômage, werkloosheidsuitkeringen
This page was last updated on April 9, 2025.
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Changes to belgian unemployment insurance in 2025
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⇒EU social security coordination
⇒Unemployment Insurance in the Nordic countries
Key points of EU Unemployment Insurance coordination
- Transferring periods of work and insurance between EEA countries As an EU citizen you can transfer acquired rights from Unemployment Insurance when moving between EU/EEA contries. In this way it may be easier to become entitled to unemployment benefit in the country you move to.
In the vast majority of the Member states the aggregation rule become fully applicable as soon as you starts to work in the country. However in Denmark, Belgium and Finland you must work some period there before you can use the aggregation rule.
You need a PD U1 document in the country you leave or if the involved countries use electronically exhange (EESSI) there will be issued a SED U002. The countries who issues the highest number of PD U1 documents are Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The countries who receives most PD U1 documents are Lithuania and Italy. - Transferring unemployment benefits Under certain conditions you can go to another EU country to look for work and continue to receive your unemployment benefits from the country where you became unemployed. The period you can export your unemployment benefits varies from 3 to 6 months in the different Member states.
You have to apply for a PD U2 document in the country you leave, or if you haven't done that the institution in the receiving country must request a SED U008 from the competent institution in your last country.
The countries who issues the highest number of PD U2 documents are Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Denmark. Poland is the country who receives by far most PD U2 documents. - Unemployment benefits coverage According to OECD the net replacement of income after 2 months of unemployment, for a single person without children whose previous in-work earnings were 67% of the average wage varies from 33 percent (Ireland) to 91 percent (Belgium). Read more here..
- Having residence in another EU country than where you work? According to EU social security coordination rules you must only be insured against unemployment in one country at a time. As a generel rule this country is where you work.
In Member states who have compulsory insurance, you will automatically be covered when you start working there.
However you may be insured by your country of residence if you are posted to a EU/EEA country or work in two or more EU/EEA countries at a time. In these situations you can not your self decide where to have unemployment Insurance, but you (or your employer) must apply for a PD A1 document which states in which country you are covered by social security, including Unemployment Insurance. Special rule also apply for cross-border workers ("frontier workers"). - Third-country Nationals working in EU/EEANON-EEA citizens are covered by Unemployment Insurance in the EU countries who have compulsory Unemployment Insurance. In countries with voluntary Unemployment Insurance (Denmark, Sweden and Finland) third-country nationals can become member of an Unemployment Insurance Fund.
In the most countries Third-country nationals can also use the EU Coordination rules when moving within EU/EEA (however not in Denmark, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland).
Third-country nationals in short-tem working relations often faces problems with actually get Unemployment benefits, even though they have contributed to the system. This is due to the fact that one normally need a residence permit which allow one to take any job, and also because of a qualifying period in most countries between 6-12 months.