Belgium Ties Sickness Benefit to Annual Medical Check as Return-to-Work Bill Advances
Published on 10/23/2026 at 22:20 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Belgian workers on long-term sick leave will have to prove their incapacity once a year or risk losing both their official invalid status and the sickness payments that come with it, under a reform approved by the social affairs committee of the Chamber of Representatives on 21 October 2026.
The fourth wave of the country's Return-to-Work plan (ReAT), shepherded by Social Affairs and Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke, cleared its first reading in committee. It tightens both the monitoring of people reported unfit for work over extended periods and the incentives meant to pull them back into employment.
At the centre of the package sits a fresh annual obligation: anyone drawing benefits must undergo a formal medical assessment each year to obtain a new invalidity certificate. Without that up-to-date classification, the official status of invalidity lapses — and so does the right to continuing sickness benefit.
Health funds handed a 218,000-file backlog
Carrying the administrative load are Belgium's health insurance funds, the Mutuelles. They will be expected to comb through roughly 218,000 files by 2029, checking each one against the medical criteria and the continuing reality of the claimant's incapacity.
Alongside the tougher checks, the bill offers sweeter financial carrots to speed up gradual returns to the workplace. The reintegration premium rises sharply, from 1,800 to 3,000 euros.
That money is not reserved for the returning worker alone. Employers can claim it too, provided they put in place an adapted workstation and keep it available for at least three months — a safeguard against overburdening staff while they are still recovering.
Inami trims its long-term sick forecast by more than 122,000
The reform is driven by the strain long-term absences place on Belgium's social security system. The National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (Inami) now paints a rosier picture for the years ahead than it did at the start of the current legislative term.
Its original projection had 611,732 people on long-term sick leave by 2029. The institute now expects the total to come in more than 122,000 below that earlier figure.
Cost estimates have moved in step. For 2029, projected invalidity spending is 2.6 billion euros under the previous forecast, according to the institute's current calculations.
