Jambon is sitting together with angry magistrates: « Non-indexation pensions but until 2029 »

The magistrature is standing since last week on its rear legs. Reason: The Easter agreement that the De Wever government concluded. One of the measures in this is to top the highest pensions of more than 5,250 euros gross per month, an amount that easily exceeds all magistrates. From now on, those pensions will no longer be indexed. There is only a fixed amount for those involved, namely 36 euros.

Unacceptable

Naturally, the judges and court staff will also feel the consequences of the general reform that Arizona is planning for everyone. For example, the pension for civil servants – just as it has been the case in private life – will no longer be calculated on the wage of the last ten years, but on that of the entire career. Which is of course less advantageous. However, a large transition period up to 2062 is provided for this.

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But the magistrates are furious about the measures. According to their calculations, they will lose 30 to 40 percent of their retirement. Unacceptable, it sounds. In protest, they decided not to call all convicts who cannot be called to the cell due to the overcrowding in prisons, which would make the situation much worse in the penitentiary institutions.

Read too. Angry because the government is murdering their pension: magistrates send 4,000 convicts to overcrowded prisons in one go

Account is incorrect

Now that the Easter recess is over, they were invited to the cabinets of Jan Jambon and Minister of Justice Annelies Verlinden (CD&V) for consultation. Minister Jambon guaranteed the representatives of the judiciary that non -indexation is only a temporary measure, until 2029. Afterwards – and then there is a new government – would be indexed again.

Because of that temporality, which was also announced that way, it is impossible that the pensions fall 30 to 40 percent, it is said. In the Pensions cabinet you can hear that the magistrates had calculated the non-indexation until 2057 and had also taken into account a very high indexation for a number of years.

Also at Verlinden

The government’s message is also that the principles that have been beaten in the pension reform apply to everyone. « Everyone will have to contribute, » it sounds. New consultation is already planned for the elaboration of the other pension plans in May.

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The magistrates also visited Minister Verlinden on Tuesday evening to discuss their grievances in the field of justice. That consultation was only planned in the evening.