· · BrusselsLanguage:NLFREN
BelgiëNuBelgium, read in figures.

Guide · Sources: Statbel and FPS BOSA

Wage indexation in Belgium — the central index and the next trigger

Last checked: 5 October 2026 · next Statbel release end of October 2026

Together with Luxembourg, Belgium is the only country that automatically links wages to prices. This guide explains the smoothed health index, the public-sector central (pivot) index and sector-level indexation in the private sector, using the latest official figures.

Smoothed health index

101.20

Sep 2026 · base 2025 = 100

Current central index

100.28

Exceeded June 2026 → benefits +2% in July, civil-service pay +2% in August

Next central index

102.29

1.09 points to go · about 4 months at the current pace

When is the next indexation?

Since June 2026 the smoothed health index has risen by an average of 0.277 points a month. At that pace the next threshold (102.29) would be reached in about 4 months. Pensions and social benefits rise 2% the month after the threshold is crossed; civil-service salaries two months after. This is a linear extrapolation, not an official forecast.

Health index and smoothed index — 2026

MonthHealth indexSmoothed
Mar 2026101.63—
Apr 2026102.77—
May 2026102.69—
Jun 2026102.59100.37
Jul 2026103.24100.77
Aug 2026103.49100.94
Sep 2026103.76101.20

Four indices, one system

  • Consumer price index (CPI) — Statbel's broad inflation measure, used to index rents.
  • Health index — CPI excluding tobacco, alcohol and motor fuels; the basis for most statutory indexation.
  • Smoothed health index — average of the last four months of the health index, multiplied by 98%.
  • Central (pivot) index — a fixed threshold. When the smoothed index exceeds it, benefits (+2%) and, two months later, public-sector pay (+2%) rise; the threshold is then raised by 2%.

Sector indexation — private sector

The private sector has no single rule: each joint committee decides when and how wages are indexed. The largest example is JC 200 (white-collar staff, about 500,000 employees), indexed every January based on the December-to-December change in the smoothed health index.

Methodology & sources

Smoothed health index series: Statbel. Central index and past triggers: FPS BOSA. Since January 2026 Statbel uses base year 2025 = 100; older series (base 2013) are not directly comparable.

StatbelFPS BOSA

Editorial analysis