Ill or disabled

If you become ill, your employer will continue to pay your salary for the first 2 years. You will build up retirement pension and partner’s pension normally. Are you still unable to work after this period? You will become incapacitated. In that case you are eligible for an invalidity benefit. 

What should you do if you are still ill after 2 years?
After 2 years of illness, the Employee Insurance Agency (Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen (UWV) will assess whether you are eligible for an invalidity benefit and then send you a decision letter. They will inform you whether you are entitled to an invalidity benefit, the percentage of your incapacity to work, your benefit amount and when payment of your benefit will start. Please contact us as soon as you receive this letter, so that we can assess your application for a disability pension and non-contributory pension accrual.

Contact us if your WIA benefit amount or percentage changes. 
As soon as we have processed your application, we will write to you to explain how this change will affect your pension.

Disability pension
Do you receive an invalidity (WIA or WAO) benefit? Then you are entitled to a supplement from the pension fund in the form of a disability pension if your annual salary is above the WIA limit. This limit amounts to € 71,628.84 annually (2024). The disability pension supplements (WIA or WAO) annual earnings in the event of disability to 70% of the difference between your original salary and WIA annual earnings. The maximum pensionable salary here is € 137,800.- each year (2024). The amount of this supplement depends on the degree of your disability.

Amount and duration
The amount of the disability pension is not only dependent on your salary on the first day of illness, but also depends on the degree of your disability. If you work part-time, you are entitled to disability pension for the hours that you work. The Employee Insurance Administration Agency (UWV) determines the degree of your disability. You will receive disability pension for as long as you are entitled to WIA or WAO benefit, in other words up to the time you reach state pension age but not beyond that date. This table shows the benefit percentages of the disability pension. The percentages with asterisks apply only to WAO benefit supplements. The right to a WIA benefit supplement only exists where the degree of disability is 35% or higher.

*If the participant receives WAO, WAO should be read rather than WIA. In addition to this, a disability pension of 30% will be paid in the event of 25-35% and 20% will be paid in the event of 15-25% disability.

Pension accrual in case of WIA or WAO
In the event of disability, the accrual of retirement pension and partner’s pension continues as before. The pension fund will then pay part of the contribution. The size of that part depends, as with the WIA or WAO benefit, on the degree of disability.

From the moment you become disabled for 35% (WAO: 15%) or more, the pension fund will pay part of the pension contribution; if the degree of disability is 80% to 100%, the entire contribution will be paid by the pension fund. Were you working part-time before you became disabled? Then your pension accrual and the waiver of contribution will be determined in proportion. The following table shows the percentages of the contribution taken over by the pension fund. The percentages with asterisks apply only to waivers of contribution in the event of WAO benefit. The right to waiver of contribution in the event of WIA benefit only exists where the degree of disability is 35% or higher.

*If the participant is entitled to WAO benefit, then an additional 30% of the contribution payment will be paid in the event of 25-35% disability, and an additional 20% of the contribution payment will be paid in the event of 15-25% disability. Would you like some general information about WIA or WAO? Take a look at the UWV website.