His Moroccan pension leaves him owing €14,492 in Belgium… the courts cancel the debt and condemn the mutual insurer

The man had worked as an employee in Morocco from 1986 to 2013 before settling in Belgium in January 2015, where he also pursued professional activity. Recognized as unable to work in February 2019, he received benefits paid by the Federation of Socialist Mutual Insurers of Brabant.

From January 1, 2020, he also began receiving a Moroccan retirement pension. Informed of his career in Morocco, his mutual insurer asked him in March 2021 for information about his rights abroad. The insured person provided his pension certificate, a bank statement and a declaration specifying that the amounts were expressed in dirhams.

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A few weeks later, the mutual insurer informed him that he had received €14,492.61 too much in benefits. It initially presented his Moroccan pension as a disability pension, before acknowledging that it was a retirement pension. This correction nevertheless did not immediately change the amount claimed.

In December 2021, the French-speaking Brussels Labour Court ruled in favor of the mutual insurer and ordered the insured person to repay €14,492.61. The man appealed, explaining that he had always declared his situation and emphasizing the difficulties encountered in transferring to Belgium the money paid into his account in Morocco.

Four decisions and more than three years of errors

During the appeal proceedings, the mutual insurer completely recalculated its figures. It ultimately reduced the overpayment for the period from January 2020 to March 2021 to €1,383.81. After the deductions already made from his benefits, it demanded only a balance of a few hundred euros.

The Brussels Labour Court acknowledged that the combination of a Moroccan retirement pension and a Belgian disability benefit was subject to the anti-cumulation rules set out in the social security agreement between the two countries. It therefore found that the new calculation of the overpayment was correct.

But the mutual insurer could not recover this amount. In its ruling of July 2, 2025, the court described a “total muddle” in the handling of the case. The organization had been informed as early as July 2019 of its insured person’s career in Morocco, but had waited one year and seven months before requesting additional information.

It then took four decisions and more than three years to correctly identify the benefits received and apply the proper regulations. During that time, the insured person had responded promptly to requests, provided his documents and supplied no inaccurate information.

The court therefore found that the error was solely attributable to the mutual insurer. Moreover, there was nothing to establish that the beneficiary knew, or should have known, that his Belgian benefits were too high. Unlike situations in which income received in Morocco is not declared in Belgium, he was not accused of any concealment.

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The first-instance judgment was overturned in its entirety. The man ultimately does not have to repay any undue payments for the period in dispute. On the contrary, the mutual insurer must reimburse him for the amounts already withheld from his benefits.

It was also ordered to pay him €500 in damages. The court held that its repeated errors had caused financial difficulties, considerable stress and administrative hassles that could have been avoided.