WILLEMSTAD – Member of Parliament for opposition party MAN, Suzy Camelia-Römer, has raised concerns about public misconceptions surrounding Curaçao’s AOV, officially called the ouderdomsvoorziening (old-age provision). According to her, the AOV should not be confused with a full pension, but rather understood as a basic safety net for the elderly.
In her statement, Camelia-Römer explained that the AOV was introduced in the former Netherlands Antilles in 1960, following the Dutch example of 1957. Its primary purpose was to prevent older citizens—who had worked hard throughout their lives but could no longer work in their later years—from falling into deep poverty.
“The AOV is a ‘volksverzekering,’ a social insurance for the entire population. In everyday language, people call it the retirement pension, but that is misleading. A true work-related pension is a ‘werknemersverzekering,’ an insurance linked directly to employment. The AOV is different: it exists to guarantee every person a minimum level of support in old age,” she stressed.
Camelia-Römer recalled that in the past, large employers such as the government and Shell ensured that workers received an additional work-related pension on top of the AOV. Since 1998, all new civil servants have been required to build a work pension that functions alongside the AOV, which serves as the foundation of their retirement income.
“Everyone has the right to AOV,” she emphasized, pointing out that both employees and employers contribute through premiums, while the broader public also contributes via taxes and government funding.
She warned against proposals to reduce or remove the AOV, underlining that it is inseparable from the pension system. “You cannot take it away from those with a pension, because it forms the base of their retirement. And you cannot take it away from those without a pension, because they would literally starve.”
Addressing suggestions that Curaçaoans could rely on the Dutch pension system instead, Camelia-Römer argued that this is unrealistic. The Netherlands is already raising the pension age and reducing pension supplements, as noted in the country packages agreed upon with Curaçao.
According to the MP, protecting and strengthening the AOV must remain a national priority. “Our elderly deserve dignity and security. We cannot play political games with their basic livelihood,” she concluded.
