Social benefit and PLCI INAMI/RIZIV: the pension bonus for medical occupations

When you retire, your statutory pension - the amount that the state will pay you - will be significantly lower than your professional income. As a self-employed individual, this pension is lower than that of employees and civil servants: €1,243 on average according to PensionStat.be (figures from January 2025), compared to €2,046 across all employment statuses.

Supplementary pension: favourable savings

To prevent this from affecting your future standard of living, the pension system in Belgium provides mechanisms that allow you to save for later on favourable terms.

For self-employed individuals, the supplementary pension (also known as the second pillar of pensions), directly linked to professional activity, allows you to take action now.

Most of these supplementary solutions work according to the same principle: you pay a certain amount to build up your future supplementary pension capital. Meanwhile, today you benefit from a tax advantage on the amount of these premiums, which will allow you to pay less tax and, in some cases, less social security contributions.

However, some healthcare professionals can build up their supplementary pension under even more advantageous terms. INAMI pays the contributions on their behalf, meaning they do not need to contribute themselves.

This is not a tax benefit linked to a premium, as they are not required to pay any such premium.

Social benefit and PLCI INAMI: save without paying contributions

Doctors, dentists, pharmacists, physiotherapists, self-employed nurses, speech therapists and midwives: if you are accredited under the national healthcare system, you can benefit from an annual INAMI allowance. This partially compensates for the fact that you apply the agreed rates.

This allocation will be paid into a reserve via a supplementary pension scheme – a PLCI INAMI – of your choice. You will receive the accumulated capital at the time of your statutory pension. This supplementary pension agreement also includes solidarity benefits in certain situations: incapacity for work, serious illness, maternity or death.

How the social benefit and INAMI work

Do you practice one of the eligible medical professions and are accredited - even partially - under the national healthcare system? Here’s how to benefit:

• You choose the pension provider to which INAMI will pay its contribution each year.
• Your INAMI supplementary pension agreement is activated on INAMI's ProSanté portal by your chosen pension provider. Once this is done, you can view the contract details there.
• Each year, your premium is validated by INAMI, based in part on your professional services.
• INAMI pays this contribution into your pension contract. 10% of this amount is allocated to solidarity benefits - the rest feeds into your pension capital.
• You receive your savings when you draw your statutory pension.
• INAMI contributions (3.55%) and solidarity contributions (2%) are deducted from this pension capital.
• You are then taxed based on the fictitious annuity system: in the following  years (maximum 13), you will have to declare as a natural person a small percentage of the amount paid (maximum 4.5%).

Contribution charged by INAMI: what service thresholds and amounts apply?

In addition to the agreed rates, INAMI ties its contribution to performance criteria. The amount paid by INAMI also depends on these criteria and your occupation.

What does this mean for you? Here are the details of these conditions and amounts published on the INAMI website for doctors, physiotherapists, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, speech therapists and midwives.

Which self-employed professionals qualify?

Both sole traders and self-employed individuals running a company can benefit from INAMI’s social status.

Other pension solutions that can be combined with INAMI contributions

By now, it’s clear: if you’re in an eligible medical profession, leveraging the INAMI mechanism should be your first step when planning your supplementary pension as a self-employed professional.

But there are other tax-effective supplementary pension solutions. And the good news is that you can combine these solutions and their benefits to build up more capital. The main options are as follows:

Supplementary Pension Plan for Self-employed Individuals (PLCI)

This is one of the most popular solutions for self-employed professionals because:

• It is available to all self-employed statuses, including sole traders and company-based professionals, those in primary or secondary self-employed occupations, assisting spouses with maxi-status, and independent helpers.
• The premium you pay to top up your pension capital is deductible under personal income tax, which reduces both taxable income  and your social security contributions.
• You can adjust the amount paid each year or decide not to pay anything.

You may freely combine the benefits of this standard PLCI with those of the INAMI PLCI.

Pension Scheme for Self-employed Individuals (CPTI)

Exclusively available to self-employed individuals, the CPTI is the perfect complement to a PLCI if you wish to save more than is legally permitted through a PLCI. The premiums you pay entitle you to a tax reduction.

EIP company pension plan

This solution and its benefits are reserved for self-employed individuals working in a company and can be combined with those of the social benefit of the INAMI and a PLCI. It is particularly attractive for self-employed business owners because:

Your company pays contributions which it deducts from the corporate income tax.

It therefore builds up a pension pot for you, which you will be entitled to when you reach state pension age.

Find out more about how to approach supplementary pensions for self-employed individuals and self-employed professionals operating through a company.

Use your pension capital to finance a real estate project

Under certain conditions, you can use your INAMI and EIP savings before your statutory pension to finance private or professional real estate purchases or renovations within the European Economic Area.

This is an attractive financing alternative to a mortgage loan, among other things because it does not incur any credit, notary or registration costs.

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

The third-pillar pension savings: a bonus not linked to your self-employment activity

Would you like to supplement your savings with supplementary pension solutions? Pension savings allow you to do so with a tax advantage. These third-pillar solutions are not linked to your professional activity. They are available to all Belgian residents over the age of 18, and the tax benefit can be combined with that of your supplementary pension.

Supplementary pension for medical occupations: key takeaways

Doctors, dentists, pharmacists, physiotherapists, nurses, speech therapists and midwives. if you are self-employed and accredited under the INAMI system, consider activating the social status benefits. This is likely the most advantageous way to build the essential supplement to your statutory self-employed pension.

But you shouldn’t stop there, as there are other attractive options available to help you piece together your future supplementary pension, such as the PLCI, the CPTI or an EIP.

So, take a step back and analyse which combination best suits your needs overall.