The Netherlands grants him a single-person pension, then discovers his marriage in Morocco

On 15 May 2023, the Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB), which is responsible, among other things, for the Dutch basic pension, granted him an AOW pension starting on 1 May. The amount was based on the single-person rate, reduced by 34% because of several years during which he had not been insured under the Dutch scheme.

His situation changed on 17 July 2023. Two months after his pension was granted, he married a Moroccan woman born in 1986 in Morocco. He did not report the marriage to the SVB.

Because the marriage took place abroad, the Dutch authority received no automatic notification. The SVB first learned, in January 2025, that the retiree was now sharing his address with his wife. The marriage was not officially reported to it until 25 March 2025.

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In the meantime, his wife had obtained a Dutch residence permit on 18 November 2024. She arrived in the Netherlands on 21 December, before being registered at her husband’s address on 6 January 2025.

On 10 April 2025, the SVB decided to recalculate the pension from August 2023, the month after the marriage. The man was no longer considered single, but married.

The authority then announced its intention to recover 6 597,50 euros overpaid between August 2023 and March 2025. It also considered imposing a fine of 2 969,13 euros, corresponding to 50% of the amount taken into account for the penalty. These figures appear in a separate decision concerning his income supplement.

An arranged marriage does not mean a lasting separation

The retiree disputed the change in rate. He claimed that, before his wife arrived in the Netherlands, the couple had lived apart on a lasting basis. He cited an arranged marriage, the absence of a shared life in Morocco and the fact that he had provided no financial support to his wife.

Under Dutch law, a married person can continue to be considered single for the purposes of the AOW if they live apart from their spouse on a lasting basis. Three conditions must then be met: one spouse must intend to end the marital relationship, each must lead their own life as if unmarried, and the separation must be intended to be permanent.

The Overijssel court found that none of these conditions had been met. From the time of the marriage, the plan was for the wife to join her husband in the Netherlands. An application for a residence permit had been filed for this purpose, and the man had travelled to Morocco in August 2024, where he had been in contact with her.

The temporary absence of a shared home and financial support was therefore not enough. In the judges’ view, the couple’s distance was mainly due to the time needed for the wife to settle in the Netherlands, not an intention to live apart permanently.

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The ruling of 7 May 2026 also found that the retiree should have understood the possible implications of his marriage. His pension had specifically been granted at the single-person rate. If in doubt, it was up to him to ask the SVB.

The court therefore upheld the retroactive recalculation from August 2023. It nevertheless noted that, in its initial decision, the SVB had not adequately explained why no special circumstances warranted limiting the retroactive effect. The authority supplemented its reasoning only during the hearing.

This procedural irregularity does not change the recalculation, but it costs the SVB 1 921 euros. The authority must pay the retiree 1 868 euros in legal costs and reimburse him for the 53 euros in court fees. The repayment of 6 597,50 euros and the proposed fine were not part of the dispute decided on 7 May.