PLCI or EIP for self-employed people operating as a company? A guide to your pension!

Pension plans for self-employed people working through a company: key points to remember

• Your statutory pension is the one paid to you by the State. 
• You can top this up with a supplementary pension linked to your employment, which offers tax benefits. 
• Self-employed people working through a company can do so via both the Supplementary Pension Plan for Self-Employed Individuals (PLCI) and Self-employed Company Pension Plan (EIP). 
• The tax benefit of a PLCI reduces your personal income tax and also has an impact on your social security contributions. 
• EIP premiums are paid by your company. The tax benefit reduces the amount of the corporation tax payable.  
• There is a maximum limit on the amount you can pay into a PLCI. 
•  The amount saved through an EIP is limited by the 80% rule. 

Statutory pension for self-employed individuals: is it enough for later down the road? 

In Belgium, the statutory pension for self-employed individuals is lower than that for employees and civil servants, which inevitably has an impact on their standard of living after retirement. And this, of course, also applies to self-employed business owners.

Statutory pension: what is it?

he statutory pension (also known as the first pension pillar) is the one paid by the state based on your professional activity and the payment of social contributions. 

 The amount depends on your income, employment status (self-employed, employee, or civil servant), career duration, and family situation, and will in all cases be lower than your professional earnings. 

In addition, self-employed individuals currently receive the lowest pension: according to PensionStat.be, in January 2025, it averaged €1,243 compared to €1,714 for employees and €3,588 for civil servants.

How can you avoid this drop in income affecting your future standard of living? By taking action now, particularly through supplementary pension plans. You can start saving for your retirement straight away while enjoying a range of benefits, mainly tax-related.  

Supplementary pension for self-employed individuals: what is it? 

The supplementary pension plan was introduced by the public authorities to encourage this type of saving through incentives, mainly tax-related. What do all these supplementary pension plans, which fall under the second pillar, have in common? They are directly related to your business. Some of these solutions are designed for self-employed individuals, and more specifically for those who run a company.

Second-pillar pension plan: an initiative taken by self-employed individuals

As a self-employed individual, the ball is in your court. It’s up to you to take the initiative to choose and set up the supplementary pension plans that suit you best. Of these, 2 solutions stand out for business owners:  

• The Supplementary Pension Plan for Self-employed Individuals, or PLCI  
• The Self-employed Company Pension Plan, or EIP 

In the specific case of medical professions covered by the Belgian health insurance plan, a premium may be paid by the INAMI to build up a supplementary pension, as explained here.  

The PLCI: the pension scheme designed for all self-employed people

The PLCI is an attractive option for a supplementary pension for self-employed individuals, including business owners, for several reasons:  

• It is available to all categories of self-employed people. Self-employed individuals and companies, whether as their main or secondary occupation; assisting spouses benefiting from the ‘maxi-statut’ plan; and self-employed carers. 
• This tax benefit reduces not only the amount of your personal income tax but also your social security contributions.  
• Each year, you can adjust the amount you pay in or choose not to pay anything at all. 
• Your supplementary private pension plan can also provide you with additional cover, for example in the event of incapacity for work or death. This can be done either by adding optional cover to your policy or by opting for the voluntary supplementary social pension, a specific form of PLCI. 

PLCI, saving and tax benefit in practice

Here’s how the PLCI works and what you need to do to benefit from it:  

1. You sign a supplementary pension plan agreement with the pension provider of your choice.  
2. The contributions you pay will go towards building up a pension pot for your future pension. This capital will generate interest, and in some cases a share of the profits.  
3. You can claim the contributions as business expenses for the purposes of your personal income tax.  
4. This deduction reduces your taxable income from employment, as well as the tax you pay on that amount. 
5. The amount of social security contributions is calculated on the basis of your employment income and will therefore also decrease.  
6. You will receive the amount you have saved when you apply for your statutory pension. So you can’t access it before then (except to finance a real estate project). When the payment is made, INAMI deductions (3.55%t) and a solidarity contribution (2%) are deducted from the amount.  

How much can you pay into your PLCI?

Is there a limit to how much you can save and claim as a tax deduction through your PLCI? Yes: the amount of your premiums is subject to statutory minimum and maximum limits. 

• You will need to pay at least €100 into your PLCI (€111 for a PLCIS – see below). 
• The maximum amount that can be deducted each year depends, first and foremost, on your reference income. In 2026, you will be able to contribute up to 8.50% of this income to an Individual Pension Plan (PLCI), and 9.78% to a Social Individual Pension Plan (PLCI social) (see below).
• The maximum amount that can be deducted is also subject to an absolute limit. Regardless of your income, you can contribute a maximum of €4,251.39 via your PLCI, and €4,891.60 via a social PLCI (see below).  

The social PLCI alternative

The Social Supplementary Pension Plan for Self-employed Individuals (PLCIS) is a variant of the PLCI.  

As well as saving for your pension and enjoying a tax benefit, you also benefit from additional protection, known as the ‘solidarity component’. In practical terms, you or your loved ones will receive financial support in certain situations: incapacity for work or disability, death, etc.  

Part of the premium (the statutory minimum of (10%) covers these social security contributions.  

What are the differences between PLCI and Social PLCI? 

Reference income for my PLCI: what is it? 

The reference income is your net taxable employment income, adjusted for inflation, from three years ago. You will find it on the notice of payment for your social security contributions issued by your social security fund. Your premium is calculated on the basis of the amount of your social security contributions if you have been self-employed for less than three years.

The Self-employed Company Pension Plan (EIP): the supplementary pension for self-employed people operating as a company

As a self-employed business owner, you can also save money by taking advantage of a tax benefit through a Self-employed Company Pension Plan (EIP). And, where applicable, top up the supplementary pension built up through a PLCI. 

How the EIP works: your company pays in and deducts contributions, and you receive the pension capital

The EIP is a supplementary pension plan exclusively for self-employed business owners.  

How does it work?  

• Your company pays contributions, which it deducts for corporation tax purposes. 
• It therefore builds up a pension pot for you, which you will be entitled to when you reach state pension age. 

You can opt for both a PLCI and an EIP at the same time to increase the total amount of your supplementary pension.  

Furthermore, please note that it is also possible to make a back-payment of contributions for years of service already completed with the company and for up to 10 years of service actually completed outside the company. 

What is the main difference between a PLCI and an EIP?

The tax benefit of a PLCI reduces your personal income tax and also has an impact on your social security contributions. 

For the EIP, the tax benefit relates to corporation tax. However, there will be no impact on the amount of your social security contributions.  

EIP: how does it work? 

1. You assess how much your company can contribute to the EIP.  
2. You choose a pension provider with which your company enters into an EIP.  
3. You generally have the choice between an option with capital protection and guaranteed interest, or one without capital protection but with the potential for a higher return. You can also combine the two.  
4. You can add supplementary cover to your policy to protect you and your loved ones in the event of unforeseen circumstances, such as incapacity to work or death, etc. 
5. Your company pays contributions which it will claim as business expenses for tax purposes, thereby reducing its taxable profit.  
6. In principle, the EIP is not regarded as a benefit in kind. Your company’s payment of contributions therefore has no impact on your personal income tax liability.  
7. When you start drawing your statutory pension, you will receive this supplementary pension.  
8. INAMI contributions (3.55%) and solidarity contributions (2%) are deducted from this amount, as well as income tax (ranging from 10% to 20%, depending on when you retire and the length of your working life). 

EIP: what are the payment limits and restrictions?

In principle, there is no upper limit on the payments your company makes into an EIP. However, as you are entitled to the supplementary pension, you will still need to take the 80% rule into account. And to complete an EIP, you must also receive a monthly remuneration as a business owner.

The 80% rule: what is it?

The 80% rule is a statutory mechanism that sets a limit on your total future pension, i.e. the combined amount you will receive from your statutory pension and your supplementary pension. All the supplementary pension schemes you are enrolled in are taken into account in this calculation: PLCI, EIP, etc. 

• This total pension may not exceed 80% of your professional earnings (in this case, the amount of your last gross annual salary as an EIP).  
• The calculation required to apply the 80% rule is based, in particular on estimates of the statutory pension and the supplementary pension (expressed as an annual pension).  
• Given the complexity of the calculation, estimating the amount of your EIP based on the 80% rule requires the assistance of a specialist in supplementary pensions.  

Using your pension savings to fund a real estate project

Under certain conditions, you may use your PLCI and EIP savings before you reach state pension retirement age to finance real estate purchases or renovations, whether for private or business purposes, within the European Economic Area.  

This is an attractive alternative to a mortgage, not least because it involves no borrowing costs, notary fees or registration charges.   

This transaction can take the form of an advance, but also involves the payment of interest on the amount borrowed.  

Third-pillar pension savings: a bonus unrelated to your self-employment business

Would you like to top up your savings through supplementary pension plans? A pension savings plan allows you to do this while enjoying a tax benefit. These third-pillar plans are not linked to your employment. They are available to all Belgian residents aged 18 and over, and the tax benefit can be combined with those relating to your supplementary pension.  

Self-employed people working through a company: several options for a supplementary pension

What are the key takeaways from all this?  

First of all, making provision for a pension is a real challenge for self-employed individuals. And the associated tax benefits make supplementary pension plans an attractive option.  

PLCI , EIP or both?

As a business owner, you can benefit from both a PLCI and an EIP at the same time.  

The PLCI plan allows you to reduce both your tax and your social security contributions, but there is a cap on the amount you can save and the tax benefit you can claim.  

The EIP is funded by your company for your benefit, which is advantageous for you. There is no absolute upper limit on the amount you can save, but this amount is subject to the 80% rule, and therefore depends on your remuneration as a business owner.  

When choosing your supplementary pension plans and the amounts you allocate to them, it is therefore important to analyse your overall financial situation and that of your company, so as to maximise your tax benefits, both in terms of personal and corporation tax.