“You need something for people who do demanding work”

Employers, trade unions and Social Affairs Minister Eddy van Hijum have reached an agreement on early retirement. This comes after the Early Retirement Scheme (RVU) has been a source of concern for some time now. Why is that? We will call Ton Wilthagen, professor of the labor market at Tilburg University, about it. And with two police officers; Meinie Boneschansker and Alwin de Kok.

Anyone who does heavy work should be able to stop work earlier. This is still possible, thanks to the Early Retirement Scheme (RVU). The scheme only expires in 2025. They have therefore taken tough actions within the police. With results. The police first reached a partial agreement: Police employees born in 1961 will also have the opportunity to use the current (temporary) RVU. A national agreement has now also been reached on the extension of the RVU. Employees who really need it can also retire three years earlier after 2025, paid by the employer. The amount that employers can give someone who quits early can also be increased by 300 euros per month. But this only applies to people with low incomes who have difficulty financially affording to quit their job early, the social partners report.

Wilthagen understands that there is a new, permanent arrangement. He puts the development in perspective. "You have to respond to aging, which will peak in 2050. But compared to other European countries, we in the Netherlands responded very early to this aging and to the increasing life expectancy." The professor refers to the rising retirement age. "We had 65 years as the retirement age for 65 years, but now it's 67. However, there are many other countries that stick to a much lower age, like 62."

Rising age
Relying solely on that rising age isn’t always wise, according to Wilthagen. "You see that there’s a growing group who can’t handle it. You need something for people whose work is very demanding. This certainly applies to people who, even with a scheme, are not financially able to stop working earlier.”
But the scheme must be specific and special. “At the police, for example, they are already doing this very well. The current RVU is intended for a select group of officers who have, among other things, 35 years of police service, including at least 25 'heavy years.' And even those heavy years are defined”, says Wilthagen.

Expansion needed
Officer Meinie Boneschansker is 59, has forty years of service with the police, but still falls outside the RVU. He finds it frustrating.

There are plenty of examples. Boneschansker lists them. Fights, traffic accidents, suicides. It’s no wonder, according to him. In forty years of police service, you witness a lot. "How many deceased people does an average citizen see in their life? I think I could fill a few football teams." His point is that his work is unusual. "Physically and mentally, it is very demanding. The irregular working hours, for example. Evening and weekend shifts, but also the uncertainty when a shift doesn’t go as expected. A call is a call; you respond to it. Regardless of whether your shift is almost over." Boneschansker doesn’t want to come across as a complainer - he loves his job. But he also experiences that his profession demands a lot from him. "The strange thing is, calls about a neighbor who hasn’t been seen for days often come in the evening. In the pitch dark, we enter the house, and while searching for the light switch, you suddenly feel a pair of feet hanging at shoulder height."

Running a marathon
Professor Wilthagen understands the passion of officers advocating for a permanent RVU. He compares it to running a marathon: "Many people started working young and sometimes spend half a century in the labor market. As they age, and it becomes less common to stop early, the distance feels long. Especially when the finish line keeps being pushed further. That’s particularly frustrating for that group of workers."

On the other hand, there are also complications with maintaining the current RVU or introducing a similar scheme. Wilthagen: "Because what exactly is heavy work? I think if you ask the average worker if their job is hard, 90% would say 'yes.' It’s hard to define, and that makes it tricky. Intuitively, we know, but objectively, we don’t. You can’t just download a list of occupations classified as heavy."

Don't keep expanding
Still, there needs to be clarity on this, Wilthagen argues. "You have to draw a line; you can’t keep expanding it. Then you’ll get a pseudo early retirement scheme that becomes very expensive."

Police officer Alwin de Kok will soon be using the RVU. He is pleased with the recent agreement. "We’ve secured a bridge only for those police colleagues born in 1961. They would otherwise fall through the cracks, a group of about 800 colleagues." De Kok believes that people in physically or mentally demanding jobs should be able to reach their retirement healthily, especially now that the retirement age keeps rising. "You’re always on. When I go to a restaurant, I choose a table with a view of the entrance. On the street, I don’t walk around like everyone else; I’m always alert. That’s stressful, and it gets harder as you age."

Wilthagen therefore advocates an obvious solution: ensuring less demanding work. "And for jobs that are heavy, people should do them for a shorter time. That’s the first thing you can address."