Counting a Foreign Career Towards Your Belgian Pension: Documents to Translate

Did you work abroad before settling in Belgium? For those years to count towards your Belgian pension, the Federal Pensions Service (SFP) must be able to reconstruct your career. Here are the documents to gather and the ones you will need to have translated.

📖 Also read: sworn translation guide · apostille or legalisation · documents to translate for immigration

The SFP takes foreign careers into account

The Federal Pensions Service (SFP) calculates your Belgian pension by adding up your periods of activity. The years worked outside Belgium can be taken into account, but through two distinct mechanisms. For the countries of the European Union, the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland, European coordination applies: the pension bodies exchange career data directly. For certain countries outside the EU, a bilateral social security agreement signed by Belgium allows the period to be counted.

EU and EEA: exchange between bodies, translation rarely needed

Within the EU/EEA and with Switzerland, pension funds communicate through standardised formsand electronic exchanges between bodies. In principle you do not have to translate your statements yourself: it is the administration that contacts the foreign institution directly. A translation is sometimes still requested for civil status documents or a particular supporting document, but it is the exception rather than the rule within the European area.

Outside the EU: a sworn translation often becomes necessary

For countries linked to Belgium by a bilateral agreement (and all the more so for those that are not), there is no automatic exchange. You will generally have to produce your supporting documents yourself, accompanied by a sworn translation into French or Dutch depending on your region. This is the typical case for careers worked in North Africa, Turkey, the United States or the Balkan countries.

Which documents need translating?

The details depend on your career path, but the file for taking a foreign career into account most often relies on the following items:

• Career statements: the official summary of the periods worked, issued by the foreign body.
• Employment certificates: confirmations issued by your former employers, with dates and roles.
• Payslips and proof of contributions: evidence of payments made to the local pension schemes.
• Birth certificate and marriage certificate: to establish your identity and family situation.

Apostille or legalisation: the step before translation

For documents issued outside the EU, an apostille or a legalisation is often required to authenticate the original document. The apostille applies to countries that signed the Hague Convention; otherwise, legalisation by the consular authorities is required. The logical order is as follows: first have the original document authenticated, then entrust it to a sworn translator. To prepare your whole move, see also our guide to the documents to translate for immigration.

Tips for putting your file together

Plan ahead: gathering statements from a foreign body can take several months. Ask for recent and legible documents, check with the SFP which target language is expected (French or Dutch depending on where you live) and keep the originals. Have everything translated in one go to ensure consistency of names and dates across all the documents.