A sectoral complementary retirement for white-collar workers in the green field

As of 1 January 2026, a new mandatory sectoral complementary pension scheme for white-collar workers will apply in JC 144 (agriculture) and JC 145 (horticulture). The scheme includes both a pension commitment and a solidarity commitment.

This AI-generated translation may contain errors and should not be considerd legal advice. For accurate info, refer to the Dutch or French version or consult your Securex Legal Advisor.

No opting-out possible

From 1 January 2026, all white-collar workers covered by these joint committees and whose pay is subject to social security contributions must be automatically and mandatorily affiliated with the sectoral pension scheme. Opting out is therefore not possible.
Retired white-collar workers, students, certain posted workers and employees in specific government programmes are excluded from the scope of application.

Contributions will effectively start from 1 July 2026.

Although the scheme legally enters into force on 1 January 2026, financing will only begin on 1 July 2026.

From 1 July 2026, you will have to pay a social security contribution of 2.20% of the reference pay:

2.10% for the pension commitment;
0.10% for the solidarity commitment.

The contribution you pay from July also covers the contributions for the first and second quarters of 2026. From 1 January 2027, the contribution will be 1.10% of the reference pay.

Example
Your employee has a reference pay of €3,000 per month. From 1 July 2026, the sectoral contribution is:

2.20% × €3,000 = €66;
plus the social security contribution of 8.86%: €5.85.

The total monthly charge is therefore €71.85.

Inform your employees

Inform your white-collar workers about their automatic affiliation with the sectoral complementary pension scheme. They will receive an annual pension statement or information about their accrued rights from the pension institution.

What about the temporary annual bonus?

In 2019, a temporary annual bonus was introduced for white-collar workers who were paid above scale and did not have a complementary pension. This bonus was paid in December. From 2026, the temporary annual bonus (1.1% of the wage bill) will be converted into an employer's contribution for a complementary pension for your white-collar workers.
This bonus will therefore no longer be paid.
Read more: "Annual bonus to be paid in December"