Early retirement and a flexi-job in 2026: the two limits you need to know

Anyone who takes early retirement and wants to top up their income with a flexi-job runs into something almost nobody explains beforehand: two separate limits apply at the same time, and your flexi-wage counts towards both. The first is the general limit on permitted work, which in 2026 comes to 10,432 euros for an employee without dependent children. The second is a limit that exists only for early retirees: 8,121 euros of flexi-wage per year. Go over it and your pension is reduced. This article sets out exactly how much you may earn, how the reduction is calculated, when the limits fall away and why an ordinary pensioner may earn without any limit at all.

When are you an early retiree

You are an early retiree if you retired before the legal retirement age and cannot show a career of 45 years. The legal retirement age is 66.

That distinction decides everything. Anyone who is 66 or has 45 career years may earn without limit. Anyone who is not there yet falls under limit amounts. The confusion arises because both groups are called "pensioners" in everyday language, while the rules are completely different.

Limit 1: the general limit on permitted work

This is the limit that applies to all professional income of an early retiree, flexi-job or not. The amounts for 2026, before the legal retirement age:

• Employee without dependent children. 10,432 euros gross per year.
• Employee with dependent children. 15,648 euros gross per year.
• Self-employed or mixed career without dependent children. 8,346 euros net taxable per year.
• Self-employed or mixed career with dependent children. 12,519 euros net taxable per year.

Staying below this limit means you keep your pension in full.

Limit 2: the flexi limit of 8,121 euros

On top of that there is a second limit that applies exclusively to early retirees with a flexi-job: 8,121 euros of flexi-wage per year in 2026. That amount does not rise if you have dependent children.

• Expressed in hours it becomes concrete. At the hospitality minimum of 13.04 euros per hour including flexi-holiday pay, you reach roughly 623 hours per year. That is a little over 50 hours a month, or about twelve hours a week. If you earn more per hour, it is fewer hours.
• Note: your flexi-wage counts towards both limits. It does not drop out of limit 1 because it already falls under limit 2.

What happens if you go over

If you exceed the flexi limit of 8,121 euros, your pension is reduced by half the percentage by which you went over. Sit 20 percent above the limit and you lose 10 percent of your pension for that year.

If you also exceed the general limit, a second reduction follows, applied after the first. Two overruns therefore stack.

The Federal Pension Service calculates this afterwards, based on your tax return and the social security data. You often only notice an overrun the following year, when a recovery notice arrives. Keeping track of your counter during the year matters more here than for an ordinary employee.

When the limits fall away

The flexi limit of 8,121 euros expires on 1 January of the year in which you turn 66. From that moment you may earn without limit with a flexi-job, even if you are still 65 on 1 January.

• The same applies as soon as you can show a career of 45 years. Anyone who reaches that before turning 66 falls under the unlimited rule from that moment on.
• From then on the difference is substantial. The tax ceiling of 18,440 euros that applies to ordinary flexi-jobbers does not apply to pensioners. A retired flexi-jobber therefore earns without limit, and still free of tax and social security. More on that in anyshift.be

The waiting period many people run into

There is one more condition, separate from the amounts. If you worked at least 4/5 in the nine months before your retirement date, you may start a flexi-job straight away. If that was not the case, you have to be registered as a pensioner for two quarters, so six months, before you may begin.

Someone who takes early retirement on 1 January after a period of part-time work can therefore often only start on 1 July. Build that into your calculation for the first year.

Tax and social security on your flexi-wage

On your flexi-wage you pay no social security contributions and no tax. Gross is net. Your pension status does not change that.

What does change is that your flexi-wage counts towards the limit amounts above. It is exempt for tax purposes but visible for pension purposes. That is exactly where most of the misunderstandings start.

You also have to report your professional activity to the Federal Pension Service. For salaried work this usually happens automatically through the social security data, but check it at your first shift.

Practical: contract, Dimona and framework agreement

As an early retiree you do not fall under the 4/5 rule that applies to ordinary employees, but you do fall under the waiting period above. For the rest, everything runs as it does for any flexi-jobber.

You sign a framework agreement with the employer before your first hour. For each shift the employer files a Dimona declaration of the FLX type with the exact start and end time. Without that declaration it is not a flexi-job and your hours count as ordinary work, with social security and withholding tax.

Since 1 July 2026, almost every sector may work with flexi-jobbers, so you are no longer limited to hospitality and retail. The full overview of hourly rates and rules is in anyshift.be

Five tips for early retirees

• Think in hours, not euros. Divide 8,121 by your gross hourly rate and you know immediately how many shifts a month you can take on.
• Add up all your income. A board mandate, an author's fee or a small self-employed sideline all count towards limit 1.
• Keep a ten percent margin. The limit amounts are indexed each year, but one shift that runs over or a year-end bonus can push you just above.
• Check your waiting period before you apply. Six months decides whether you start in January or in July.
• Look at the year you turn 66. From 1 January of that year the limit falls away, so plan your heavier months after that date.

Frequently asked questions about early retirement and flexi-jobs

Can I work a flexi-job if I took early retirement?

Yes. You do have to stay below the limit of 8,121 euros of flexi-wage per year, and below the general limit of 10,432 euros as an employee without dependent children.

Does my flexi-job count towards my pension?

No, you build up no additional pension rights, because no ordinary social security contributions are paid on it. It does count towards the limit amounts for permitted work.

What happens if I exceed the limit of 8,121 euros?

Your pension is reduced by half the percentage by which you went over. If you also exceed the general limit, a second reduction follows.

When may I earn without limit?

From 1 January of the year in which you turn 66, or as soon as you can show 45 career years.

Does the 18,440 euro ceiling apply to me as well?

No. That tax ceiling applies to flexi-jobbers who are not retired. For pensioners, including early retirees, the flexi-wage is exempt from tax without limit. In your case the restriction sits in the pension rules, not in the tax rules.

In short

Being an early retiree and working a flexi-job is perfectly possible, but you are dealing with two limits at once: 8,121 euros of flexi-wage and 10,432 euros of total professional income as an employee without dependent children. Your flexi-wage counts towards both, and if you go over you lose part of your pension. From 1 January of the year you turn 66, or with 45 career years, those limits fall away and you earn without a ceiling. Read more on anyshift.be and anyshift.be. Open shifts are on anyshift.be and per city on anyshift.be. Employers who want to bring in people over 60 will find guidance on anyshift.be

📲 Shifts that fit inside your hours are in the AnyShift app. Download it on the App Store apps.apple.com or on Google Play play.google.com