“Dutch Government Allocates 122 Million Euros for State Pension of Surinamese Elderly”

Joyce Sylvester chaired a committee of wise men who looked into the matter. In response to the cabinet decision, she says: “After more than 30 years, there is finally a financial contribution from the Dutch government. I see it as a gesture of acknowledgment and recognition for the elderly of Surinamese descent.”

The elderly in question lived between 1957 and 1975 in Suriname, which was then still part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It concerns several tens of thousands of people. They came to the Netherlands before independence, but receive a much lower AOW at the age of 65. This is a monthly amount of between 300 and 400 euros. These Dutch people experience it as a great injustice that they do not receive a full state pension.

In various parliamentary debates in recent years, the desire to accommodate these people who feel they have been treated unfairly has already been expressed. In 2021, the Council of State stated that there are no legal grounds for repairing the incomplete state pension accrual. However, the Sylvester Committee believes that there is indeed a moral obligation and recommended two years ago that a scheme should be introduced to repair the gap.

In addition, the committee recommended an optional compensation because of the situation in which this group of elderly people has been for years now. There will be no regulation, but after years of wrangling, the cabinet does decide to make the aforementioned voluntary contribution.

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