The sectoral pension plan JC 111 is the sector pension for blue-collar workers in metal, machine and electrical construction. Since 1 April 2000 the employer has paid a contribution on gross pay for every worker: 2.29% in the Flemish provinces, 2.09% at other companies, plus 0.10% for the solidarity part. The metal subsistence fund collects the contributions with its quarterly contributions, and the Metal Pension Fund OFP manages them. A plan of your own as a replacement is no longer possible.
This guide covers the JC 111 sector pension. How sector plans work in general is explained in our guide on the sectoral pension plan. Wages, bonuses and the committee's other fund contributions are in the guide on joint committee 111.
Sectoral pension plan JC 111 at a glance
| Item | Rule |
|---|---|
| In force since | 1 April 2000 |
| Who | All blue-collar workers of a JC 111 employer, whatever their contract |
| Pension contribution | 2.29% or 2.09% of gross pay at 100% |
| Solidarity contribution | 0.10% of the same pay |
| Special contribution | 8.86% on the pension contribution |
| Worker contribution | None |
| Organiser | FBZ Metal Processing Industry-BIS |
| Collection | FBZ Metal Processing Industry, every quarter |
| Pension institution | Metal Pension Fund OFP |
| Plan type | Plan 3: defined contributions without a guaranteed return, since 1 January 2013 |
| Legal basis | CLA of 8 December 2025 (no. 196957/CO/111) |
The CLA of 8 December 2025 replaces the pension rules, the solidarity rules and the rules of the reception structure. The pension fund publishes the rules on its website, where your workers can consult them.
Who builds up a sector pension in JC 111?
The sector pension applies to all blue-collar workers of companies under the Joint Committee for metal, machine and electrical construction. The CLA states it expressly: every worker, whatever the nature of his employment contract. A fixed-term or part-time contract therefore builds up rights too. White-collar staff at the same company fall under JC 209 and have their own plan, described in our guide on the sectoral pension plan JC 209.
Two groups of employers are outside it:
| Who | Why |
|---|---|
| Companies with their own plan from a company agreement concluded by 31 December 1999 | Exempt, as long as the plan exists and the FBZ approved it |
| Foreign employers posting workers to Belgium | Excluded from the scope |
If an exempt company ends its own plan, it falls under the sector pension from that moment. Since 1 July 2018 no new exemptions have been possible. Only employers that took over a company plan in an acquisition before that date could stay exempt for the transferred workers.
Not sure your workers fall under JC 111, for instance because you also install or repair? Read our guide on how to find your joint committee in Belgium first. Bridge and metal frame assembly has its own pay scale and working time, but the same sector pension.
How much is the contribution for the sectoral pension plan JC 111?
The contribution depends on where the company is:
| Company | Pension part | Solidarity part | Total to the Metal Pension Fund |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antwerp, Limburg, East and West Flanders, Flemish Brabant, and bridges and metal frames anywhere | 2.29% | 0.10% | 2.39% |
| All other companies | 2.09% | 0.10% | 2.19% |
The basis. The contributions apply to gross pay at 100% that you report to the NSSO under DmfA pay codes 1, 2, 3 and 4. It is expressly the pay without the 8% uplift used for blue-collar NSSO contributions. So the year-end bonus is included, and blue-collar holiday pay is not, because the holiday fund pays it.
On top comes the special contribution of 8.86% on the pension contribution. In the FBZ contribution table you therefore see one total figure for the sector pension for a Flemish company, including that contribution and solidarity. The rates have applied since 1 July 2017 and have not changed since.
Worked example: what the sectoral pension plan JC 111 costs for a welder
A full-time class 6 welder in East Flanders earns at least € 18.30 an hour, so € 3,013.45 a month at 38 hours a week. The full table is on the JC 111 pay scale page. His year-end bonus is 164.67 hours of pay, one month; its rules are on the end-of-year bonus JC 111 page.
- Gross pay at 100% over a year: € 3,013.45 x 13 = € 39,174.85.
- Pension contribution: € 39,174.85 x 2.29% = € 897.10.
- Special contribution: € 897.10 x 8.86% = € 79.48.
- Solidarity contribution: € 39,174.85 x 0.10% = € 39.17.
- Total cost: € 1,015.75 a year, or € 84.65 per calendar month.
The same welder at a company in Wallonia or Brussels costs € 930.46 a year in total at 2.09%. His scale wage differs there, though, because JC 111 has provincial pay scales. What he keeps net is explained in our guide to gross to net pay.
How you pay: through the metal subsistence fund
You do not pay the sector pension separately. The FBZ Metal Processing Industry collects the pension and solidarity contributions on behalf of the organiser, together with its other quarterly contributions, and passes them on to the Metal Pension Fund. Your part is a correct DmfA:
- Every worker is under JC 111, with the right committee per site.
- Wages are under the right pay codes, so the FBZ uses the right basis.
- Start and end dates are correct, so membership starts and stops on the right date.
The date the worker starts with the employer is also the date he joins the plan. The worker pays nothing: there is no pension deduction on his payslip.
Return: three plans in succession
Since it began, the sector pension has had three forms. For the worker they add up:
| Plan | Contribution period | Return |
|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 | Until end 2008 | Guaranteed 3.25% a year |
| Plan 2 | 2009 to end 2012 | The rate of the statutory minimum guarantee |
| Plan 3 | Since 1 January 2013 | Defined contributions without a guaranteed return; the worker gets 80% of the positive net return |
Overall, the statutory minimum return guarantee applies. It is 2.50% in 2025 and 2026, and then follows the rate the FSMA calculates each year. The part of the positive return the worker does not receive in Plan 3 goes into a collective reserve that absorbs shortfalls.
Temporary unemployment, illness and death: the solidarity part
The solidarity part tops up the build-up when the worker is not working, and pays on death:
| Situation | Solidarity benefit |
|---|---|
| Temporary unemployment | € 1 per day |
| Illness, first month paid by the health insurance fund, full-time | € 35 |
| Illness, from the second month, full-time | € 20 per month |
| Death | € 1,000 gross |
For part-time workers the illness amounts are halved. The amounts are small, but they add up over a career. The FBZ also pays workers a supplementary allowance during temporary unemployment, € 14.15 a day for a full-time worker. How temporary unemployment works is in our guide on temporary unemployment; the guaranteed wage period during illness is in employee off sick.
Sectoral pension plan JC 111 alongside the white-collar plan
A metal company with blue-collar and white-collar staff pays two sector pensions, each with its own fund and basis. The difference lies mainly in who collects and on what:
| Blue-collar, JC 111 | White-collar, JC 209 | |
|---|---|---|
| Pension contribution | 2.29% or 2.09% by region | one rate for all of Belgium |
| Solidarity | 0.10% | its own solidarity contribution |
| Basis | gross pay at 100%, codes 1 to 4 | gross annual pay without holiday pay |
| Collection | FBZ Metal Processing Industry | Social Fund for Metal Industry Employees |
| Pension institution | Metal Pension Fund OFP | an insurer |
A worker promoted to a white-collar job therefore also changes plan. The reserve built up at the Metal Pension Fund remains his; from the change he builds up in the JC 209 plan.
Leaving and payment of the metal sector pension
When a worker leaves, the build-up stops with the last DmfA in which he appears. If he joins another JC 111 employer, his plan continues. If he leaves the sector, the Metal Pension Fund sends him an overview and he chooses what happens to his reserve: leave it, or transfer it to the pension institution of a new employer or another sector. A reserve of no more than € 150, an indexed amount, simply stays in the fund.
Payment takes place at statutory retirement, as a lump sum or on request as an annuity. The worker sees his balance on mypension.be, where Sigedis updates the reserves every year, and in the Metal Pension Fund's pension statement.
For you, what counts is a correct exit in the Dimona declaration and the DmfA, and correct social documents such as the C4 form. On dismissal, the notice period does not change the contribution: it runs on the wages paid during notice.
Sectoral pension plan JC 111 in 2026 and 2027
The contributions of 2.29%, 2.09% and 0.10% apply unchanged in 2026. The CLA of 8 December 2025 updates the rules but not the contributions.
Common mistakes with the sectoral pension plan JC 111
- Leaving a worker out because his contract is short. Every worker builds up, whatever his type of contract.
- Seeing your own group insurance as a replacement. No new exemptions have been possible since 2018.
- The wrong region. A site in Flanders pays 2.29%, a site in Wallonia 2.09%, except for bridge and metal frame assembly.
- Leaving the special contribution out of wage costs. It comes on top of the pension contribution.
- Expecting white-collar staff in the blue-collar plan. White-collar staff fall under JC 209.
- Wrong pay codes. The basis is gross pay at 100% under codes 1 to 4.
What to check now
- Are all your workers under JC 111 in the DmfA, with the right committee per site?
- Does the rate on your FBZ statement match where your company is located?
- If you have an old exemption, does your own plan still exist in the same form?
- Is the special contribution in your wage cost budget?
- Do new workers know they build up with the Metal Pension Fund and where to see it?
- Are your white-collar staff under JC 209 with their own sector premium?
What Business Centrum does for you
Business Centrum processes the payroll of metal companies together with Acerta, with one dedicated contact in Ghent who knows your workers and employees. We check the committee per site, process the FBZ contributions in your payroll administration and include the pension cost in your wage cost. Also see our social secretariat for SMEs, or request a call back.