This will change on November 1st for your portfolio

Traditionally, on the first day of the month, things that affect your portfolio change. We list the most important changes that will be implemented on November 1.

Belfius and MeDirect increase interest on savings

It has taken a little longer than expected, but we are gradually seeing banks increasing their interest in savings accounts one by one. For example, Belfius will adjust its prices as of November 1. The base interest rate on the Belfius Fidelity savings account will rise from 0.20 to 0.25 percent, and the Fidelity premium from 1.05 to 1.75 percent. So money remaining in a savings account for one year yields 2 percent. In a Classic Savings Account, the base interest rate and Fidelity Bonus rise from 0.45 to 0.55 percent. MeDirect launches a new online savings account with a base interest rate of 2 percent, the highest interest rate among all banks. There is also a loyalty bonus of 0.80 percent. However, no more than €25,000 can be deposited into this account. From December, ING will become the first bank to offer a total of 3%.

– Indexing pensions and benefits

The index rose only slightly in October as inflation fell to 0.36 percent. But that was enough to exceed the central index. This means that unemployment benefits and pensions will rise by two percent in November. Most people will have to wait a month or two for a pay rise, depending on the sector you work in. For the majority of white-collar workers, there is a one-time annual index in January. In the current situation, it will be about two percent.

No more paper fines for eBox users

The judiciary is increasingly focusing on digitalisation. For example, people who have activated eBox – an electronic mailbox for official documents – will no longer receive paper traffic fines from November 1. You are not obligated to do this, three million Belgians have already done so. If you don’t pay the digital fine on time, you’ll receive a paper reminder. There are additional costs involved.

Rents may be indexed again in Brussels

After this happened again in Flanders since October, energy-hungry house rents in Brussels and Wallonia can now also be indexed again as of this month. This indexing was frozen last year to protect people living in poorly insulated homes, who already had to pay more due to skyrocketing energy prices. Now that these rates have normalized again, the rental price can be adjusted to match the index again.

Telenet stops free Wi-Fi service

Starting November 1, Telenet will discontinue Wi-Free, a service that has allowed users to connect to public hotspots and hotspots of other customers for free since 2012. According to Telenet, maintaining this legacy service costs a lot. Customers are increasingly using mobile networks, reducing the need for WiFi when traveling. In addition, modern and future modems will no longer transmit the Wi-Free signal.

Disney+ costs €2 more

Subscribe to a streaming service Disney+ It will become more expensive: from now on you will have to pay 10.99 euros per month, an increase of 2 euros. This only applies to existing customers as of December 6. The annual amount rises by 20 euros, from 89.90 to 109.90 euros.

Applying for rent relief and rent premium has become easier

Applying for Flemish rental subsidy and rent premium has become easier. These are benefits that support people with limited income in the rental market. As of this month, registering on the social housing waiting list is no longer mandatory to receive rent subsidy. With the rental premium, there is no longer a need for a conformity check, which involves checking whether the rented property meets Flemish housing quality standards.

Sending parcels by post will become more expensive (temporarily).

During the end of the year, more parcels are sent than during the rest of the year. Bpost partially passes the additional costs on to customers: from November 24 to December 25, customers must pay an additional 1 euro per parcel. Bpost also wants to encourage the spread of demand beyond the year-end period.