Schemes and legislation

The AOW is a basic state pension for people aged 65 and over. If you live and work in the Netherlands, you will almost certainly be insured under the AOW scheme. AOW pension and the related supplementary allowance for younger partners are paid by the SVB.

You can start building up rights to an AOW pension from the age of 15. Each year that you are insured entitles you to 2% of the full AOW pension. As a rule, you will not be insured if you live or work outside the Netherlands. In that case, you can opt to take out voluntary insurance. If you came to the Netherlands after the age of 15, you can pay contributions retrospectively for the years from your 15th birthday. If you live with someone, and you or your partner are under 65, and the younger partner has little or no income, a supplementary allowance may be payable. NB: the supplementary allowance is going to be discontinued and will not be available for people who turn 65 in or after 2015.
The amount of the AOW pension depends on your situation. That is, whether you live with a partner, or are a single person without children, or a single person with children.

The benefits paid under the National Survivor Benefits Act (Anw) are financial support from the government for people whose partner has died, and for children who are orphaned. These benefits are paid by the SVB.

For the purpose of Anw benefits, no distinction is made between people who are married, in a registered partnership, or simply living together. Even if you were divorced from your late partner, a survivor benefit may be payable. The amount of the survivor benefit depends on your income. There is also a dependent child allowance for children who have lost one parent, which is a fixed amount.

Child benefit is money from the government towards the costs of raising a child. It is paid by the SVB. If you live or work in the Netherlands and have children under 18, you will get Dutch child benefit.

The amount of the child benefit depends on the child's age, and may also be affected if the child earns money.

Children who are ill or disabled often need more care than children who are not ill or disabled. If your child lives at home with you, you may qualify for a TOG care allowance. This allowance is paid by the SVB.

To qualify for a TOG care allowance, you have to meet certain conditions. For example, your child has to be aged between 3 and 17, and must spend at least 4 nights a week at home with you. In addition, your child will need an AWBZ indication (under the National Act on Exceptional Medical Expenses) for at least 10 hours of care per week. AWBZ indications are issued by the Care Assessment Centre (CIZ) or the Youth Care Agency (BJZ).

The TAS scheme is for people who suffer from malignant mesothelioma caused by working with asbestos. The scheme is implemented by the SVB.

The SVB implements the scheme in cooperation with the Dutch Institute for Asbestos Victims (IAS). The IAS assists asbestos victims and their survivors with applying for an advance payment, advises the SVB regarding the compensation to be paid, and investigates whether the former employer will have to pay damages.

The objective of the Supplementary Pension Insurance Foundation (FVP) is to ensure that people who become unemployed continue to accrue pension rights.

If you become unemployed and you stop building up pension rights as a result, this will affect the pension you receive when you retire. With the FVP contribution, you will continue to accrue pension rights. The SVB is responsible for fund management for the FVP foundation and also administers the contributions system.

The FVP contributions system will continue up to 1 January 2011. This means that employees who become unemployed in 2010 may, if they meet the conditions, qualify for an FVP contribution. Employees who become entitled to a WW unemployment benefit on or after 1 January 2011 will not qualify for a contribution under the FVP scheme.

AWBZ

If you need care due to illness, a handicap or old age, you may qualify for a PGB personal budget. For example, under the National Act on Exceptional Medical Expenses (AWBZ).

A PGB personal budget allows you to choose a carer as well as when and how you receive care. Every year, around a hundred thousand Dutch residents make use of this scheme.

The SVB supports people with a PGB budget on behalf of the Health Care Insurance Board (CVZ). As a budget holder, you can use the SVB's PGB Service Centre free of charge. If you pay tax and contributions over your carer's pay, we can take care of salary administration for you.

Social Support Act (WMO)

If you need help with household tasks, you can also claim a PGB budget under the WMO Social Support Act.

More than two thirds of municipal authorities have the Personal Budget scheme carried out by the SVB. The remaining third still administer the scheme themselves, but more and more municipalities are expected to ask the SVB to implement the scheme.

People who receive a budget under the WMO Act and people who receive a budget under the AWBZ scheme receive exactly the same service.

The Dutch government greatly appreciates the work done by informal carers. As a token of its appreciation, informal carers may receive a complementary award in the form of a payment which is made once a year (the 'mantelzorgcompliment'). In 2008, the amount of the complementary award was 250 euros.

You can qualify for the complementary award if you care intensively for a friend, relative or acquaintance over a long period of time, providing care that would otherwise have to be provided by professional carers. Either the carer or the person receiving care can apply to the SVB for the complementary award.

The Remigration Act provides financial support for people who want to return to live in another country. The Remigration Act is implemented by the SVB.

The remigration benefit paid under the Remigration Act can help people such as former migrant workers or recognized political refugees to return to their country of origin. The amount of the benefit depends on the cost of living in the country of remigration. If you receive the remigration benefit at the same time as an AOW old age pension, for example, no remigration benefit will be payable if the amount of the pension is higher. The benefit is then referred to as a "nil" benefit.

The total number of people entitled to a remigration benefit has increased in recent years, but the increase is mostly attributable to people with a "nil" benefit. The number of claimants who actually receive a remigration benefit is fairly stable. While more than half of all remigrants are from Turkey or Morocco, the number of claimants from former Yugoslavia and Surinam has increased over the years.

If you are over 65 and do not receive a full AOW pension, and you have little or no other income, it is likely that your income will be below the level of the guaranteed minimum income. In that case, you can apply for income support under the Work and Social Assistance Act for over-65s (WWB 65+). Ask the SVB for information.

Originally, income support for people over 65 was always paid by municipal authorities, but more and more municipal authorities have been opting to have the SVB take care of the administration of these payments. That is why we inform people with a reduced AOW pension about the possibility of claiming income support. As from 2010, the SVB will be legally responsible for the payment of income support to pensioners on behalf of all municipalities.

The Bureaus for Belgian and German Affairs are there to advise and inform people who live in Belgium or Germany and work in the Netherlands, or who live in the Netherlands and work in Belgium or Germany. Living or working across the border could affect your social insurance position and the pension you will receive.

The Bureaus aim to serve benefit recipients, employers' organizations and unions, individual employers and employees, and the self-employed. Apart from providing advice and information, they offer mediation services and assistance with administrative matters.

The Bureaus are working together more and more due to frequent changes in legislation and the type of information required as well as the increasing incidence of migration. For instance, the Bureaus hold joint consultation sessions.

Some people do not wish to be covered by national insurance schemes on principle. The SVB holds and maintains the records for these people.

People who do not wish to be insured under one or more social or industrial insurance schemes can apply to the SVB for exemption. Instead of contributions, they will pay the same amount in wage tax. This concerns a total of around 11,000 people.

The SVB keeps a register of persons insured under the AWBZ scheme so that it is clear who has not taken out health insurance. It does this under a new Act on tracing the uninsured, Opsporing en verzekering onverzekerden Zorgverzekeringswet. The SVB implements this Act together with the CVZ (Dutch Health Care Insurance Board).