From 2026, Dutch RVU early-exit deals face tighter checks on payroll tax, heavy work, and timing. The route is meant for older employees in heavy jobs who cannot reach AOW age healthily. For employers, every promise now touches cash, payroll, leave records, and staffing.
Why this matters
An RVU can run for up to three years before AOW age without the extra levy, but only within the threshold. For 2026, the basic amount is €2,357 gross a month. Table 12 uses €2,657 a month for 36 months, including the possible €300 addition. Miss the date or the amount, and the 57.70% levy can hit the excess. The file also needs proof of heavy work and a replacement plan.
Example
A 62-year-old technician asks to stop before AOW. He has done heavy site work for years. The owner checks his AOW date, the cao, the heavy-work file, the start date, and the 36-month limit. Payroll checks the 2026 threshold and levy risk. HR checks saved leave. The manager checks the handover, customer files, open service contracts, and who can take urgent calls. Only then does the owner answer.
XTROVERSO tips
- Start with the personal AOW date. Use the employee’s actual AOW date, not age 65. The 36-month RVU window runs back from that date.
- Keep the RVU calculation in one file. Put the start date, end date, gross monthly amount, threshold check, and levy exposure in one payroll file. A neat promise should not become a tax surprise.
- Prove heavy work with records. Use rosters, job descriptions, night shifts, physical tasks, mental load, workplace risks, sick-leave patterns, and steps taken to reduce the burden. Memory is not enough.
- Check leave saving before year-end. Employees can save up to 100 weeks of leave. Excess leave can affect wage tax and pension. Keep leave records, payroll, and pension wording together.
- Plan the empty chair. Before you agree an exit date, list the work that moves. Include customer calls, invoice checks, supplier knowledge, planning, training time, overtime, and recruitment cost.
- Set the advice boundary. The employer can explain company rules and payroll facts. Personal pension choices, tax effects, and household income need a pension provider, tax adviser, or financial adviser.
If you want the RVU file checked before you promise anything, we can review the numbers and risks
The data, sourcing, and analysis behind this article were conducted by Linda Pavan. AI was not used to identify sources, build the factual basis, or produce the analytical judgment contained here. AI was used only as a drafting aid. The final English text was personally reviewed, edited, and approved by Linda Pavan before publication.
References
- Gezond naar het pensioen - RVU-afspraken in cao's, duurzame inzetbaarheid en verlofsparen · Salaris Vanmorgen
- Rijksoverheid - RVU threshold, extra amount and employer levy
- Belastingdienst - Payroll tax table for RVU
- Rijksoverheid - Heavy-work validation by TNO route
- Rijksoverheid - General government frame for healthy working and RVU
- Rijksoverheid - New subsidy for reducing burdensome work
- Rijksoverheid - Leave saving as pension-transition tool
- Belastingdienst - Fiscal ceiling and pension effect of leave-saving hours
