The sectoral pension plan JC 140.03 is the sector pension of blue-collar workers in road transport and logistics for third parties. Since 1 July 2011, drivers, warehouse staff and other blue-collar workers have been building up a pension with Pensio TL. The employer pays 0.92% of the pensionable wage, the NSSO wage at 108%, with a minimum of € 80 per quarter for a full-time worker. The NSSO collects it with your usual contributions.
This guide covers the sector pension of blue-collar workers in JSC 140.03. How sector plans work in general is explained in our guide to the sectoral pension plan. Wages, bonuses and the other contributions to the Social Fund for Transport and Logistics are in the guide to joint committee 140.
Sectoral pension plan JC 140.03 at a glance
| Item | What applies |
|---|---|
| In force since | 1 July 2011 |
| Who | Blue-collar workers in NSSO category 083, worker code 015 or 027, not apprentices |
| Contribution | 0.92% of the pensionable wage, since 1 July 2018 |
| Pensionable wage | NSSO wage at 108% |
| Minimum | € 80 per full quarter for a full-time worker, since 1 January 2019 |
| What it contains | pension contribution (88.67%), the 8.86% special contribution on it, and a cost contribution |
| Worker contribution | None |
| Collection | NSSO, quarterly |
| Organiser | Social Fund for Transport and Logistics (SFTL) |
| Pension institution | Pensio TL OFP |
| Type of plan | Defined contributions without a guaranteed return |
| Rules | CLA of 22 November 2018 (no. 149433/CO/140) and CLA of 16 December 2021 (no. 171622/CO/140) |
The plan was set up in Joint Committee 140 for transport and logistics, but applies only to employers in subcommittee 140.03. Coaches, taxis and removal firms have their own rules. The CLA of 22 November 2018 sets the contribution and the opting-out; the CLA of 16 December 2021 holds the current pension rules, in force since 1 January 2022.
Who builds up a pension under the sectoral pension plan JC 140.03?
The pension rules enrol every blue-collar worker you declare in NSSO category 083 with worker code 015 or 027, on a fixed-term or permanent contract. There is no age condition: a young driver builds up from the first quarter, just like a colleague of 60. Enrolment starts on the first day of the quarter of the first DmfA.
| Who | Builds up? |
|---|---|
| Drivers and other blue-collar staff, code 015 or 027 | Yes, from the start of the contract |
| Agency workers | No, they are in the agency's DmfA, not yours |
| Apprentices with code 035 | No |
| Apprentices from the year they turn 19, under code 015 but on an apprenticeship contract | No |
| White-collar staff of the same company | No, they fall under JC 226 with their own sector plan |
White-collar staff in transport and logistics therefore have a different plan, with different percentages and a different pension institution. See our guide to the sectoral pension plan JC 226. What an agency worker costs you in total is in the cost of a temp agency. If you are unsure which committee applies to your activity, for example because you also move or store goods for your own account, first read finding your joint committee.
How much is the sectoral pension plan JC 140.03 contribution?
Since 1 July 2018 the contribution has been a percentage of pay. Before that it was a fixed amount per quarter:
| Period | Contribution per quarter, full time |
|---|---|
| July 2011 to end 2015 | € 50 |
| 2016 to June 2018 | € 75 |
| July to December 2018 | 0.92% of the pensionable wage, at least 75 euros |
| Since 1 January 2019 | 0.92% of the pensionable wage, at least € 80 |
The pensionable wage is the wage on which you pay ordinary NSSO contributions, so for blue-collar workers gross pay at 108%. That keeps it simple: the base is the same as for your NSSO.
The minimum of € 80 applies to a full quarter and a full-time worker. If someone works part time or only part of the quarter, the minimum is reduced by the global performance factor: the days or hours declared divided by a full-time quarter. For a half-time worker the minimum is therefore € 40.
What the contribution contains. The 0.92% is all-in. 88.67% of it goes to the individual account as the pension contribution. The special contribution of 8.86% is due on that part, and the rest covers Pensio TL's management costs. You do not calculate or declare anything separately.
Worked example: what the sector pension costs for a driver
A full-time level 4 driver on a schedule of 38 actual hours earns at least € 15.81 an hour. The full table is on the JC 140.03 pay scale page.
- Gross pay over a quarter: € 15.81 x 38 hours x 13 weeks = € 7,808.91.
- Pensionable wage at 108%: € 8,433.62.
- Percentage contribution: € 8,433.62 x 0.92% = € 77.59.
- Check against the minimum: that is less than € 80, so you pay the minimum.
- Split of the € 80: € 70.94 pension contribution, € 6.28 special contribution and € 2.78 cost contribution.
- Per year: € 320.
An experienced driver often earns more than the minimum. At € 17.50 an hour, the quarterly pay is € 8,645 and the pensionable wage € 9,336.60. The contribution is then € 85.90 per quarter: € 76.17 pension contribution, € 6.75 special contribution and € 2.98 costs. Per year that is € 343.60.
Where the minimum stops. At 38 hours a week the threshold is around € 16.30 an hour, or € 2,683.84 a month. Below it a worker costs € 80 a quarter; above it, 0.92% of pay at 108%. Overtime, night premiums and other supplements raise the NSSO wage and so the contribution. In JSC 140.03 the SFTL pays the year-end bonus, see the end-of-year bonus JC 140.
What does the driver build up? At the minimum, € 2,837.60 in pension contributions over ten years, before return. After the January indexation pay rises, and with it the base; what that means for your drivers is in indexation JC 140.03 in January 2027.
How you pay: through the NSSO
You do not pay anything directly to Pensio TL. The NSSO collects the contribution each quarter from JSC 140.03 employers that do not use their own plan and passes it on. Your part is a correct DmfA:
- Your company is in NSSO category 083 and your blue-collar workers under code 015 or 027.
- Pay and hours per worker are correct, as they determine the pensionable wage and the performance factor.
- A payment in lieu of notice is declared correctly: the contribution is also due on it.
- Start and end dates are correct in the Dimona declaration, so enrolment starts in the right quarter.
The worker pays nothing and sees no deduction on the payslip. How the DmfA works is explained in what is the DmfA.
Opting-out: can I use my own plan?
An own company plan instead of the sector plan is possible only for employers that existed on 1 July 2011 and already had an at least equivalent plan then. They had to send the SFTL a sworn statement before that date and an actuary's certificate before 15 October 2011. The conditions continue:
| Condition | What it means |
|---|---|
| All workers | The own plan covers every worker who would be in the sector plan, from day one |
| All sites | Also every site with the same NSSO number in category 083 |
| Equivalent | At least the same net pension contribution and death cover, counting employer contributions only |
| Annual certificate | Every year an actuary's certificate and proof of payment to the SFTL, by 31 December at the latest |
| Joint management | A jointly managed pension fund or an active supervisory committee |
Employers that entered the sector after 1 July 2011 take part in the sector plan. An exception exists when taking over workers who were already in the previous employer's opted-out plan. If an annual certificate is missing, the SFTL can enforce your participation in the sector plan. Group insurance on top of the sector plan is always possible, but it does not replace it.
Return and vested rights
Pensio TL works with defined contributions without a guaranteed return. The fund invests all contributions together and spreads the return over the individual accounts. A cap applies: the return credited to accounts is at most the statutory return guarantee, currently 2.50% in 2025 and 2026. Anything above first fills shortfalls and then goes to a buffer. In bad years the return on the account can be lower, but on leaving and retirement the fund tops up to the statutory guarantee.
Rights vest immediately, from the first contribution. Death cover also applies from enrolment. Someone who leaves after six months keeps what is on the account.
Death before retirement
If an active driver dies, the beneficiary receives the amount on the account, topped up to the legally guaranteed amount. Without a designation of their own, a fixed order applies:
- The partner at the time of death.
- Failing that, the children, or their children by representation.
- Failing that, the parents.
- Failing that, the brothers and sisters.
The worker can designate another beneficiary using the Pensio TL form. If there is no beneficiary, the money stays in the fund. The JSC 140.03 plan has no separate solidarity part like horeca or food.
Leaving and payment of the JC 140.03 sector pension
A driver who moves to another transport company simply stays enrolled. Pensio TL only records an exit if no DmfA from a sector employer arrives for the driver for 2 consecutive quarters, or if the driver reports it. The driver then chooses:
- Leave the reserve with Pensio TL, paid on retirement or death.
- Transfer the reserve to the pension institution of a new employer or sector that enrols them.
- Transfer the reserve to another pension institution that shares its profits among members.
With no choice, the reserve stays with Pensio TL. A reserve of at most € 150, an indexed amount, always stays in the fund. Payments and transfers below € 15 are not made.
Payment. The driver requests the lump sum in writing at the statutory pension, provided they also stop working in the sector. The normal retirement age is the statutory one, at the earliest 65; early withdrawal is possible from age 60 where the law allows it. In practice Pensio TL pays on the last day of the fourth month after the quarter of the last working day. An annuity can be requested within 60 days, but below an annual annuity of € 500 (indexed) payment is always a lump sum. The balance is shown in the annual pension overview and on mypension.be.
For you, a correct exit with the right social documents matters, such as the C4 document. During the notice period the contribution continues on pay as normal.
Sectoral pension plan JC 140.03 next to the white-collar plan
A transport company with drivers and office staff pays two sector pensions. Since 2016 the social partners have brought the blue-collar plan closer to the white-collar one, among other things by expressing the contribution as a percentage of pay since 2018:
| Blue-collar, JSC 140.03 | White-collar, JC 226 | |
|---|---|---|
| Contribution | 0.92% of pay at 108%, at least € 80 a quarter | own percentage of the NSSO wage |
| Pension institution | Pensio TL | own institution |
| Collection | NSSO | NSSO |
| Own plan | only with the 2011 opting-out | own rules |
Promoting a driver to planner or dispatcher on a white-collar contract therefore also means a change of plan. The reserve with Pensio TL remains theirs.
Sectoral pension plan JC 140.03 in 2026 and 2027
The 0.92% contribution with the € 80 minimum applies unchanged in 2026. The pension rules of 16 December 2021 adjusted the reception structure and the information, not the contribution.
Common mistakes with the sectoral pension plan JC 140.03
- Counting only 0.92%. For drivers at or just above the minimum wage, the minimum of € 80 per quarter applies.
- Adding the special contribution again. It is included in the 0.92%.
- Expecting white-collar staff in Pensio TL. White-collar staff fall under JC 226.
- Treating your own group insurance as a replacement. Opting-out is only possible for plans that existed on 1 July 2011, with an annual certificate.
- A wrong worker code or NSSO category. The NSSO then does not collect the contribution, or collects it wrongly.
- Counting an apprentice. Apprentices on an apprenticeship contract do not build up.
What to check now
- Is your company in NSSO category 083 and are your blue-collar workers under code 015 or 027?
- Is the contribution, with the minimum of € 80, in your wage cost per driver?
- If you use an opting-out, is this year's certificate with the SFTL before 31 December?
- Are your white-collar staff under JC 226 with their own sector plan?
- Do new drivers know they build up with Pensio TL and where they can see it?
- Is the performance factor right for part-time drivers?
What Business Centrum does for you
Business Centrum processes the payroll of transport and logistics companies together with Acerta, with one dedicated contact who knows your drivers, warehouse and office. We check category, worker code and committee, process the DmfA in your payroll administration and include the pension cost in your wage cost per driver. See how we handle payroll for transport companies, what we do for the transport sector, or request a call back.