The Dutch benefits agency, UWV, anticipates an upsurge in the number of people receiving temporary or permanent disability benefits. The number of recipients is projected to rise to 852,800 this year, up from 840,100 the previous year. This steady increase, particularly in relation to the WIA (the law covering labor and income related to work capacity), is due in large part to the increase in the population of people over 60. A rise in the state pension age also contributes, enabling the use of disability benefits for longer.

People over 60, who have depended on the WIA since October 2022, have been assessed in a more simplified manner by the UWV. This quenches the need for a shorter waiting time for social-medical assessments, resulting in 3,200 additional benefit recipients per year in 2023 and 2024. This scheme, however, will terminate by the end of 2024. A further 60,000 people are anticipated to join the WIA benefits program this year.

However, recipients of benefits under the WAO (Disability Insurance Act) and WAZ (Disability Insurance Act for the Self-Employed) are declining in number. The WIA, which has progressively replaced the WAO since 2006, records very few new registrants, and the WAZ is deemed outdated. The UWV predicts an increase in the number of recipients of Wajong benefits, designed for those with restricted working capacity due to disease or disability before 18 or during study time.

The UWV acknowledged a prolonged waiting period for disability benefits awards last year. Over 17,000 people were experiencing waiting times for assessments in 2022, which the UWV aims to reduce from nine months to seven months. The agency also mentions a decrease in doctors specializing in insurance claims, mainly due to retirements necessitating the hiring of less experienced and productive replacements.