“Healthy towards retirement”: extension of RVU levy relief for physically demanding work

An RVU is a scheme that is (almost) exclusively intended to provide one or more payments to bridge the period until the pension commencement date or the state pension (AOW) age. If a scheme qualifies as an RVU, the employer is required to pay a so-called pseudo-final levy of 52% on the RVU payment. This is also referred to as the RVU levy.

The current relaxation of the RVU levy allows employers to avoid paying the levy on the payment if:

• the employee leaves employment no more than three years before reaching the state pension age;
• the payment does not exceed the exemption threshold (in 2025: €2,273 gross per month);
• the RVU agreement is concluded no later than 31 December 2025 with an employee who reaches the state pension age by 31 December 2028.

The government and social partners have agreed to structurally extend this relaxation beyond 2025. The extension is intended for employees in physically demanding jobs, for whom continuing to work longer is not feasible due to health reasons and who lack the financial means to retire early on their own. The extension aims to contribute to a healthier balance between work and retirement for these employees.

The extended relaxation of the RVU levy allows employers to continue offering RVU arrangements after 2025 without tax disadvantages, provided the conditions are met.

However, the rules surrounding the relaxation will become stricter after 2025 to ensure the tax benefit is only applied to employees who genuinely need it. The key points of the agreement are:

1. Targeted application: The government and social partners emphasize that the relaxed RVU levy should primarily target employees in physically demanding jobs, for whom continuing to work is not feasible due to health reasons and who lack the financial means to retire early. Employers are encouraged to limit eligibility to these employees.
2. Monitoring and evaluation: To ensure the effectiveness of the relaxation, the application of the rules will be monitored annually and evaluated every three years. For employers, this means that RVU usage will be closely tracked. If the number of participants reaches the threshold of 15,000 per year, the government and social partners may introduce additional measures to maintain the scheme’s effectiveness.
3. Income threshold: Collective labor agreement (CLA) parties will have the option to include an income threshold in RVU agreements. This allows employers to exclude higher-income employees from the scheme, thereby focusing support on those in greater financial need.
4. Increase in exemption threshold: The exemption threshold for the relaxed RVU levy will be increased by an additional €300 per month (€3,600 per year), on top of the existing threshold, which is equivalent in net terms to the state pension benefit. This enables employers to provide greater financial support to employees taking early retirement.

The initial elaboration of the measures from the agreement Healthy Towards Retirement was shared with the House of Representatives on 28 May 2025 and will be developed into a legislative proposal. The points from the agreement and the elaboration by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment are not yet final. The plans still need to be further developed into a bill, which must be approved by parliament before implementation. The minister expects to submit the proposal after the summer as part of the 2026 Tax Plan. However, this timeline is uncertain due to the recent resignation of the cabinet. For now, the current relaxation remains in effect until the end of 2025.

Do you have questions about the plans or the current possibilities for concluding an RVU? Please contact Thomas Catersels or one of our other specialists from the Employment, Employee Participation & Mediation team.

Would you like to receive a monthly overview of updates and blogs in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to the newsletter!