The ''Algemene Ouderdomswet'' ('General Old Age pensions Act, abbreviated AOW) is a 1956

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

law that installed a

state pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a "defined benefit plan", wher ...

for the elderly. This law was a continuation of a 1947 temporary law. The old law was a proposal by

Willem Drees Willem Drees Sr. (; 5 July 1886 – 14 May 1988) was a Dutch politician of the Social Democratic Workers' Party (Netherlands), Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP) and later co-founder of the Labour Party (Netherlands), Labour Party (PvdA) ...

, while the new one came about when he was

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. It is the one thing he is remembered for most and his name is immortalised in the expression ''van Drees trekken'' (literally 'drawing from Drees' after the Dutch word ''steuntrekken'' for receiving social security). The law provides for a base pension from an 'AOW age' which increases with time for everyone who had a

permanent residency Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with such l ...

(with or without work) in the Netherlands during the 50 years before his age catches up with the AOW age (2016: 65 years and 6 months; 2017: 65 years and 9 months). For those who have not been a resident in the Netherlands for a full 50 years, the amount is proportional. If a

pensioner A pensioner is a person who receives a pension, most commonly because of retirement from the workforce. This is a term typically used in the United Kingdom (along with OAP, initialism of old-age pensioner), Ireland and Australia where someone of p ...

has a common

household A household consists of one or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...

with someone else (for example in the case of

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

cohabitation Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not legally married live together as a couple. They are often involved in a Romance (love), romantic or Sexual intercourse, sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. ...

), whether also a pensioner or not, the monthly amount is lower than if he or she lives alone.

References

Dutch legislation Welfare in the Netherlands 1956 introductions Age pension systems Pensions in the Netherlands {{Europe-law-stub