“Since a new legal framework was created in 2017, Belgium has become an attractive place for setting up a pan-European pension fund,” adds Philip Neyt, chairman of PensioPlus, the Belgian association for pension funds. “Thanks to that legal framework, companies can easily include the social and labor legislation from other countries. Zooming in on the ExxonMobil, this means that the Dutch employees of the oil and gas company maintain the same rights as before.”

In 2016, an additional law was approved regarding the withholding tax exemption on pension funds for people living outside of Belgium. This was already offered, but activating it required a heavy administrative process. The new measure, however, significantly cuts the red tape involved.

Specialists predict that an increasing number of pension funds will be transferred to Belgium in the near future. “Various big projects are being prepared as we speak,” adds Philip Neyt. “By 2025, Belgian pension funds are expected to handle many more times the approximately EUR 25 billion they currently manage.”