Belgian Prince Seeks Pension Benefits
For attending galas, cutting ribbons and meeting diplomats, a Belgian prince takes home a royal allowance of 100,000 euros, nearly $110,000, a year. But what will happen when he stops working? For that, Prince Laurent of Belgium is seeking government benefits.
A court this week agreed in part, recommending that the country's lawmakers consider drawing up regulations for a federal pension for the prince, even as it dismissed his argument that his royal duties were in essence a job and that his incurred expenses were comparable to being self-employed.
His lawyer, Olivier Rijckaert, said in an interview Tuesday that the court had effectively placed the prince in a special category, akin to a 'super public servant.' Only one other person is in that category, his lawyer said: the prince's older sister, Princess Astrid.
The prince, who is 61, will now decide whether to wait for the law to be passed or to challenge the court's ruling, hoping to speed the process, his lawyer said.
Prince Laurent, the younger brother of King Phillippe, brought the case in 2023, suing Belgium's National Institute for the Social Security of the Self-employed. He argued in court that without a pension, his wife, Princess Claire, and their three adult children would be left financially vulnerable upon his death or if he halted his duties, according to court documents.
The prince receives a stipend of €400,000 a year, three-quarters of which is used to cover his staff's salaries plus various trips and entertainment expenses, according to his lawyer. Prince Laurent is required to provide supporting documents for all of those expenses, Mr. Rijckaert said.
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