Older and Partially Disabled Self-Employed Income Support (IOAZ)

Are you an older self-employed professional working in the Netherlands? And do you want to terminate your business because you have too little income from your business? You may be eligible for a benefit under the Older and Partially Disabled (Formerly Self-Employed) Persons Income Support Act (Wet inkomensvoorziening oudere en gedeeltelijk arbeidsongeschikte gewezen zelfstandigen, IOAZ, in Dutch).

The IOAZ supplements your income and that of your partner, if you have one, to the social assistance benefit level. In some cases, partially disabled freelancers/self-employed persons may also be eligible for an IOAZ benefit.

Who can apply?

In order to be eligible for an IOAZ benefit (in Dutch), you must satisfy a number of conditions, such as:

• You are between 55 years old and the state pension age.
• You do not have a liveable income.
• You must apply for the benefit before you have your business deregistered from the Business Register.
• You meet the time criterion for the entrepreneur's allowance. If your partner also works in your business your minimum number of working hours is 875. For your partner this is at least 525 hours per year.
• You have worked in the Netherlands during the last 10 years and have been a freelancer/self-employed professional for at least 3 years.
• You end your business within 1.5 years of your application for the IOAZ.

For benefits such as the IOAZ a number of obligations apply as well (in Dutch). For example, a duty to apply for paid employment and accept suitable employment options.

Please note: you will no longer receive the IOAZ benefit when you reach state pension age, migrate outside the Netherlands, or when you or your partner restart your business.

Check your eligibility

You can use the Dutch-language Bbz check to find out if you are eligible for IOAZ. This tool is an initiative of several collaborating government organisations.

How to apply

You submit your application for the IOAZ benefit to the social affairs division of your local municipal authority. Make sure to submit your application before closing your business.