56 benefit recipients per 100 workers, stable for four years
In 2025, 56 people received benefits for every 100 people with a job. Of these, 40 people receive a pension. This figure has remained the same for four years.
This comes from statistics from the CBS (Statistics Netherlands). Since 2022, the number of people receiving benefits has been stable, with slightly more than 55 per 100 workers. Between 2015 and 2022, this number decreased, except in the corona year 2020.
In the past 25 years, there were only fewer people receiving benefits per 100 workers at the beginning of this century and in 2007 and 2008 (53 people per 100 workers). In years with many jobs, such as from 2013 to 2015, there are more people receiving benefits. There are now 40 people with a pension per 100 workers.
In 2014, that number was 43. At the beginning of this century, 35 people per 100 workers had a pension. The number of people receiving social benefits, such as social assistance or disability benefits, has usually been between 15 (in 2022) and 20 (in 2014) per 100 workers over the past 25 years.
In recent years, that number has been 16. More and more people are working More people have been working in the last 11 years.
Only in the corona year 2020, that number was lower. Now, nearly half of the people in the Netherlands mainly earn their income from work. That is the highest number in 25 years.
Especially more women and older people are working now. More people with a pension In 2025, 3.4 million people received a pension.
In 2002, that number was 2.4 million. In 2025, 18.6 percent of the Dutch population was retired. At the beginning of this century, that was 15.1 percent.
Between 2001 and 2014, the number of people with a pension grew rapidly. In recent years, the number has remained about the same, except in 2020. This is because people retire later.
The number of people aged between 55 and 65 who are retired has decreased: from nearly 19 percent in 2006 to less than 3 percent in 2025. Fewer students and people without income The percentage of pupils, students, and people without income has dropped from 33.5 percent in 2001 to 26.9 percent in 2025.
This is partly due to there being fewer young people. In 2025, nearly 1.4 million people mainly received a social benefit. This is 7.5 percent of the population.
In the past 25 years, this figure has always been between 6.8 and 8.6 percent.