43,000 people to receive new warning letter on unemployment benefit limits
After an initial wave of letters was sent out in September, the National Employment Office (RVA/ONEM) is now sending out the next batch of notification letters about the end of unemployment benefits. This affects nearly 43,000 people, who will no longer be entitled to these benefits from 1 March 2026.
The federal government has approved a reform of unemployment benefits, which limits entitlement to benefits over time, depending on the duration of unemployment and employment history.
The first people affected received a warning letter in September. These were 10,700 job seekers who had accumulated at least 20 years of full unemployment and will lose their entitlement to benefits from 1 January 2026. 18,100 jobseekers receiving integration benefits, for at least one year, were also affected. The integration benefit is aimed at young people who have not yet entered the workforce.
The next letters will be sent by post from next Monday and via the digital eBox from this Saturday. They will be addressed to jobseekers who have accumulated between 8 and 20 years of full unemployment during their career.
This concerns 42,846 people: 9,795 in the Flemish Region, 13,282 in the Brussels-Capital Region, 19,600 in Wallonia, 167 in the German-speaking Community and two for whom the information is not known or who are abroad. They will lose their entitlement to unemployment benefits from 1 March next year.
New letters are expected to be sent out in mid-November to jobseekers who have accumulated less than 8 years of unemployment. They will lose their entitlement on 1 April 2026.
Illustration © BELGA PHOTO MAXIME ASSELBERGHS
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