Increase in over-55s born abroad, more often living below the social minimum

More and more people over 55 who were born abroad are living in the Netherlands. In 2012, there were 454,000 such people. In 2024, there were 758,000.

Now, 12 percent of all people over 55 were born abroad. In 2012, that figure was 9 percent. Many people over 55 were born in Suriname, Indonesia, Turkey or Morocco.

Increasing numbers of older people are also coming from countries such as Iran, Iraq and Syria. Approximately 13,000 people over 55 from Ukraine live in the Netherlands. Many of them came to the Netherlands after the war began in Ukraine in 2022.

Some countries, by contrast, have fewer older people. There are fewer people over 55 from Indonesia because this group is older and more people are dying. Many people over 55 from abroad live near the border.

For example, Germans and Belgians live close to Germany or Belgium. In large cities, there are many people over 55 from Suriname, Turkey and Morocco. People over 55 who were born outside the Netherlands are more likely to live below the social minimum.

This means that they have less money to live on. This is because they have often lived in the Netherlands for a shorter period and therefore have not always accrued a full pension. Younger people over 55 without a pension are also more likely to live below the social minimum.

They usually receive benefits. People over 55 who were born in the Netherlands are less likely to face this problem.