56 benefit recipients for every 100 in work, ratio stable for fourth year

For every 100 people in work in the Netherlands in 2025, there were 56 people receiving benefits, 40 of whom were pensioners. Over the past 25 years, the number of benefit recipients per 100 people in work reached a peak at 63 between 2013 and 2015. This is according to new figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

The proportion of people receiving benefits has been stable since 2022, at just over 55 for every 100 people in work. The ratio declined between 2015 and 2022, with the exception of 2020, the year of the coronavirus pandemic. Today, the number of benefit recipients per 100 people in work is lower than at any other time in the past 25 years with the exception of 2007 and 2008, when there were 53. In periods of higher unemployment, such as from 2013 to 2015, more people claim benefits. For every 100 people in work today, there are 40 pensioners. In 2014, that number was 43, and at the turn of the century the number was 35.

Meanwhile, still looking at the past twenty-five years, the number of people receiving social security benefits (such as income support or disability benefit) has varied between 15 (in 2022) and 20 (in 2014) per 100 people in work. In recent years, the number has been 16.

Share of people in work has increased

The share of people for whose main source of income is work has increased over the past 11 years - with the exception of 2020, the year of the coronavirus pandemic. In recent years, almost half of the population of the Netherlands derived most of their income from paid work. That is the highest level in the last twenty-five years. One reason for this is that women and older people are now more likely to be in work.

More pensioners

In 2025, 3.4 million people in the Netherlands were receiving a pension. That compares to 2.4 million in 2002. At the start of this century, 15.1 percent of the population was retired - a share that had risen to 18.6 percent by 2025.

The share of people receiving a pension rose at the fastest rate between 2001 and 2014. In recent years (with the exception of 2020), the proportion of pensioners has remained fairly stable, despite the Netherlands’ ageing population. This is because more people are retiring later in life. The proportion of pensioners in the 55-64 age group has fallen from almost 19 percent in 2006 to less than 3 percent in 2025.

The share of schoolchildren, students and people without an income fell from 33.5 percent of the population in 2001 to 26.9 percent in 2025. This is partly because there are fewer young people, in relative terms.

Just under 1.4 million people were reliant on social security benefits as their main source of income in 2025, representing 7.5 percent of the population. This share has fluctuated between 6.8 and 8.6 percent over the past 25 years.