Pension service reclaims thousands of euros from victims of Brussels terrorist attacks

The Federal Public Service Pensions has reclaimed hundreds of thousands of euros – often incorrectly – from victims of the Brussels terrorist attacks of 22 March 2016, Het Nieuwsblad reports. The service acknowledges that it has made errors and is making corrections.

The issue concerns victims who are entitled to a reparation pension, a lifelong benefit for those who were at least 10 per cent disabled or who lost family members in the suicide bombings at Maelbeek metro station and Brussels Airport. Between 2024 and 2025, many people were suddenly asked by the government to repay part of it.

“We know of dozens of cases, but there are probably more,” Jamila Adda of support organisation Life for Brussels told the newspaper. They include people who underwent amputations and those diagnosed with post-traumatic stress syndrome, as well as relatives of people who were killed. Thirty two people died in the bombings and hundreds were injured.

"We know of dozens of cases, but there are probably more"

“The amounts claimed back can be very high,” Adda said. “In some cases, they run to several tens of thousands of euros and in some cases even several hundred thousand euros.”

According to the law governing reparation pensions, a victim cannot be compensated twice for the same damage, so those who receive compensation through insurance, for example, receive less via the reparation pension. However, recovering money can only be done when fraud is established, but this is not the case here, Life for Brussels says.

The pension service acknowledges that it made mistakes. In 57 cases out of a total of 600 victims allocated reparation pensions, matters are said to have been handled incorrectly.

In 14 cases, recovery was wrongly requested, but this is now being rectified, the FPS says. The wrongly recovered amounts will be refunded to the victims. The 43 other cases involve ambiguities that will be clarified in the coming days.

This week, Life for Brussels unveiled Faces of Pain, a photography exhibition by Nafi Yao commemorating the victims in the corridors of the Belgian Parliament.

^{A makeshift memorial at the Bourse in central Brussels in the aftermath of the 22 March 2016 attacks © PHOTO PHILIPPE HUGUEN / AFP}