The probability of poverty has decreased on average since 1977. Van Mulligen says: “This is because the labor participation rate has increased. Work is the best antidote to doing something about poverty. Those who work and are still below the poverty line, work too little and too often. unstable contracts.

Another group that sometimes falls below the poverty line are entrepreneurs who have had a bad year. “They can live on their reserves, but because of the low income, they fall into poverty in such a bad year. The people who are still at risk of poverty afterwards are basically carers,” van Mulligen says. Of the people who receive benefits, at least three-quarters are below the poverty line.

retired و

In the past, many retirees were also below the poverty line, but this has changed. “I was previously below the poverty line with AOW,” says Van Mulligen. In the 1990s, retirees from the AOW made up a quarter of people living below the poverty line. The state pension has been increased since 2000.

“As a result, there were almost no retirees below the poverty line. Those who were below the poverty line did not fully build up their AOW rights, for example because they lived abroad. If you don’t have supplemental pensions, there is a good chance you are under poverty line,” says Van Mulligen.

The purchasing power of retirees has increased over the decades, but has actually declined over the past ten years.