New tax on capital gains in Belgium: how will it work? With Pieter van der Velden [029]
On the 1st of January, a new tax will impact all investors in Belgium. But how does it work? What do we know about this tax right now?This is what we cover in this masterclass presentation with Pieter van der Velden, author of the white paper on this topic for Vermorgensgids.From what we know of the tax right now, it looks like we will all need to learn to deal with it even if we invest with Belgian brokers. Which is why this episode of the FIRE Belgium Show is so important.In this presentation, we cover:1. Who will be subject to the new capital gains tax (CGT)?2. What will be taxed? - the 4 categories of assets subject to CGT - the assets that are exempt3. When will a taxable event be triggered? - what happens in case of gift or inheritance? - what happens if you move abroad?4. How much CGT will I need to pay? - impact on historical gains (or losses) - what about transaction costs? and foreign currencies? - how does the FIFO principle work in practice? What are the exceptions? - how does the 10k exemption work in practice? And what about the 1k annual increments?5. Practically, what does this mean for index investors?If you’re an index investor, or you’re curious about this new tax, then this episode is for you.If you’d like to work with Pieter directly, you can book a call with him here: Select a Date & Time - Calendly (and tell him you're coming from FIRE Belgium :-))And if you’re new to index investing, then I recommend you watch the free interactive workshop on Index Investing for Beginners in Belgium: create passive income from the stock market, without paying high fees to banks or advisors, taking unnecessary risks or spending all day analyzing the markets. Free Workshop → https://firebelgium.com/investingworkshop---Download the FIRE Belgium Beginner's Guide to Index Investing: https://bit.ly/FIREBGuideLearn about Financial Independence in Belgium: https://firebelgium.comSubscribe to the newsletter: https://firebelgium.com/#SubscribeJoin the community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FIREBelgium
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How to Invest in ETFs in Belgium in 2025 (full guide) [028]
Most Belgians are leaving thousands of euros on the table every single year. Why? Because they’re still stuck in savings accounts or paying high fees on underperforming bank funds. In this episode, I’m showing you how to take control of your financial future by investing in global low-cost index ETFs, in a simple and effective way.It’s simple because all you really need is a couple of well selected index funds, and then you invest in them each month in just a few clicks, without the stress and work that trading and stock picking requires.It’s effective, because it’s based on decades of academic research that proves that this approach provides better returns than actively managed funds sold by banks, while costing less in fees and taxes.In fact, investing effectively is much simpler than what the industry wants you to believe.And this is the approach I have used to build my 1 million € portfolio and reach financial independence at 33.Which is why I am sharing the full process of how to invest in ETFs in Belgium in this episode/guide.I also include a concrete example of a popular optimized portfolio for illustration. That way you have everything you need to get started with index investing with just this episode.Here is what we cover:00:00 Intro01:27 Table of Content02:03 What is an ETF03:13 Why invest in ETFs (for investors in Belgium): 4 reasons03:41 Index ETFs perform better than active strategies04:53 Index ETFs are generally much cheaper05:41 Index ETFs can be very tax efficient in Belgium07:15 Index investing can be done in less than 1 minute per month07:49 How to select an ETF09:39 How to buy an ETF in Belgium10:54 How much should I invest in ETFs12:47 How often should I invest in ETFs14:54 How to build your portfolio18:33 Practical example of investing in a simple and effective ETF portfolio, optimized for Belgium21:15 How to Build Wealth on Autopilot22:30 How to get started faster and without the beginner’s mistakeDon’t miss it!---►► Free Workshop on Index Investing for Beginners in Belgium: create passive income from the stock market, without paying high fees to banks or advisors, taking unnecessary risks or spending all day analyzing the markets. Free Workshop → https://firebelgium.com/investingworkshop---Download the FIRE Belgium Beginner's Guide to Index Investing: https://bit.ly/FIREBGuideLearn about Financial Independence in Belgium: https://firebelgium.comSubscribe to the newsletter: https://firebelgium.com/#SubscribeJoin the community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FIREBelgium
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How to optimize your pension as self-employed in Belgium? - with Karel Van den Eynde, Public Affairs Manager at Liantis [027]
How to optimize your pension as self-employed in Belgium? In this session from Money Week 2025, I speak with Karel Van den Eynde, Public Affairs Manager at Liantis.He specializes in advising entrepreneurs on optimizing their pension strategies, including government schemes and additional pension options such as the VAPZ/PLCI, POZ/CPTI and IPT/EIP. We dive deep into these pension products, breaking down the rules and constraints for each of them. We also discuss the optimal way to use the pension products, comparing their fiscal advantages, but also discussing their expected returns. And this is something important for me. Most tax and pension specialists in Belgium will advise products based on their fiscal advantages. But I think they’re wrong. Instead of looking at the tax deductions, we should compare our options for building our pension based on the expected returns, net of taxes. Because in the end, what matters is that we optimize how hard our savings are working for us, not how little taxes we’re paying.---►► Free Workshop on Index Investing for Beginners in Belgium: create passive income from the stock market, without paying high fees to banks or advisors, taking unnecessary risks or spending all day analyzing the markets. Free Workshop → https://firebelgium.com/investingworkshop---Download the FIRE Belgium Beginner's Guide to Index Investing: https://bit.ly/FIREBGuideLearn about Financial Independence in Belgium: https://firebelgium.comSubscribe to the newsletter: https://firebelgium.com/#SubscribeJoin the community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FIREBelgium
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Everything you need to know about Pillar 2 Pension Funds in Belgium - with Ann Verlinden, CEO of PensioPlus [026]
Do you know where your pension money is going? It’s your money, you should know!In this episode, I speak to Ann Verlinden, CEO of PensioPlus, the Belgian Association of Pension Institution. It’s a recording from Belgium Money Week 2025.This was a fascinating conversation, where I learned a ton!In this episode, you will learn about pension funds, what they are and how they work. How they are very different from life insurance products and how well they’ve performed in the past few decades.I asked Ann about the cost of pension funds, their performance and whether or not it’s possible to have index funds in them. And I was in fact quite surprised by her responses!We also talk about what you can do to make sure you get the best pension products through your employer.So if you’re interested in optimizing your pension income, this is a great episode, which complements really well the other replays from Belgium Money Week 2025.---►► Free Workshop on Index Investing for Beginners in Belgium: create passive income from the stock market, without paying high fees to banks or advisors, taking unnecessary risks or spending all day analyzing the markets. Free Workshop → https://firebelgium.com/investingworkshop---Download the FIRE Belgium Beginner's Guide to Index Investing: https://bit.ly/FIREBGuideLearn about Financial Independence in Belgium: https://firebelgium.comSubscribe to the newsletter: https://firebelgium.com/#SubscribeJoin the community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FIREBelgium
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How BAD are Belgian Pensions, compared to other EU pensions? - with Sébastien Commain, BETTER Finance [025]
Will you afford to retire? How good (bad?) is the Belgian Pension System, compared to other systems in Europe? This is the second talk of Belgium Money Week 2025, where I interview Sébastien Commain, co-author of the report “Will You Afford to Retire".Every year, BETTER Finance, The European Federation of Investors and Financial Services Users publishes the report "Will You Afford to Retire".It’s a detailed analysis of private retirement savings plans in the various EU Member States including Belgium. The report highlights the charges, taxation, returns and other key parameters of pension savings to determine whether (or not) they are really helping to achieve pension adequacy for individual, citizen contributors. The report stands out as the sole publication that calculates real net returns, and tackles the question of purchasing power for retirees.In this talk you will learn about the challenges faced by our system, with a special focus on pension products of Pillars 2 and 3. You will learn about their net returns and why they are so low.You will also learn about one striking example of a pension product in Europe that delivers very high returns and completely dwarfs the performance of all other examples in Europe.And finally, you will learn about what you as an individual saver and investor can do to invest better and better prepare for your pension.---►► Free Workshop on Index Investing for Beginners in Belgium: create passive income from the stock market, without paying high fees to banks or advisors, taking unnecessary risks or spending all day analyzing the markets. Free Workshop → https://firebelgium.com/investingworkshop---Download the FIRE Belgium Beginner's Guide to Index Investing: https://bit.ly/FIREBGuideLearn about Financial Independence in Belgium: https://firebelgium.comSubscribe to the newsletter: https://firebelgium.com/#SubscribeJoin the community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FIREBelgium
Money is one of the greatest tools we have to build a life we love. Whether you're seeking financial freedom or security, or simply want to have more peace of mind when it comes to money, learning how to use it wisely is essential.
In this show you will to learn how to take control of your finances, start investing and put your money to work to serve you and others more effectively.
You will learn from world-class personal finance experts as well as from Sebastien’s experience in reaching financial independence at 33 and helping thousands of other make progress on their journey.
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