The Pension debate has been in the public sphere for a while and airline pilots can’t be kept out of it any longer. BeCA, as the only (apolitical) Pilot Association representing the profession in our country, has requested a special meeting with Minister Bacquelaine, in order to find an urgent solution to two concrete issues:

1. Retirement age of 67: Given that our ATP licences automatically expire at 65, we will have to stop flying at 65. So, what is the government’s plan to fill this 2-year gap? No other profession in our country faces such a hard limit and we need a solution.
2. Difficulties of the job. Our job is extremely demanding with continuously increasing stress and fatigue levels combined with hostile work environment (pressurisation, cosmic radiation, air contamination…). Moreover, from the age of 60, we must pass every year two medical checks and two prof-checks. EASA (the European regulator for civil aviation) indirectly recognises this matter of fact as they forbid two 60+ pilots to fly together. We must therefore propose an acceptable and balanced solution.

Concretely, what are the potential solutions?

This is not an easy file and there is no straightforward nor ready-made solution. There are three possible lines of action currently considered:

1. Special pilot pension system: before 2012, the system that was in place worked perfectly. At the time, BeCA demonstrated that a 58/35 pilot system with no financial feeding from the general pension system was possible if the same level of contribution from airlines and pilots into the State Pilot Pension was maintained. However, this system was abandoned when some Belgian Airlines refused to contribute anymore as part of cost-cutting plans. Therefore, if airlines reverse their decision and contribute to a sectoral fund, we could imagine putting this system back into place again.
2. Loss of licence insurance: Some organisations are pushing for a solution that would rely more extensively on loss of licence insurances. But if we put too much strain on this system, insurers will increase their fees and add more exclusion criteria. Let’s keep in mind that insurers are driven by commercial interests, not by sharing on a collective basis a common risk. Don’t forget either that the (bi-)yearly medical check up does not check fatigue resistance nor cognitive proficiency.
3. The Heavy Profession (“zwaar beroep/métier lourd”) solution: This solution – supported by Unions in Belgium – is of course an option, but at BeCA, we feel that it might be a false good idea. Indeed, such a system could give employers the opportunity of collective dismissals of a bunch of pilots having reached a given age. This “cleanup” already happened in 2012 when some Belgian airlines forced their older pilots to accept lowered terms and conditions or accept a dismissal with reduced compensations.

There are no easy solutions but BeCA wants these problems to be solved as a whole. That is why we requested a meeting with Minister Bacquelaine. We will of course let you know about future developments.

Best regards,

The BeCA Executive Committee

More information: If you want more information about the pension file, you can visit our website (private part) and read the three articles we wrote in our Winter 2017-2018 Cockpit Flash, Summer 2017 Cockpit Flash and Summer 2016 Cockpit Flash.