9 Headaches HR Faces Implementing the Federal Mobility Budget
…and How Vaigo Solves Them
The Federal Mobility Budget (FMB) is now a well‑established part of Belgium’s compensation landscape.
For large HR teams, it’s still a puzzle of fiscal rules, operational constraints, and admin overhead.
At Vaigo, we translate policy into daily practice. Across large employers, HR runs into the same recurring headaches when rolling out and managing the FMB.
Here they are — and how Vaigo turns them into clarity and control.
1. “Do we need to offer all three pillars?”
No. As an employer, you are legally required to offer Pillar 2 and Pillar 3.
- Pillar 2 — Sustainable mobility is mandatory: you must offer at least one option (such as bike leasing, public transport, or shared mobility). You can also require that at least 50% of the budget be spent here.
- Pillar 3 — Cash payment cannot be excluded: any remaining balance at year‑end must be paid to the employee, no later than with the January salary of the following year.
- Pillar 1 — Company car is optional and depends on your policy.
💡 How Vaigo helps
Stay compliant by default: Vaigo enforces the three‑pillar rules, blocks non‑compliant settings, and automatically calculates what must flow to Pillar 3 — no manual intervention required.
2. “How do we calculate the budget correctly — and can we change the formula later?”
The budget calculation is one of the most technical aspects of the FMB. Employers must choose between two formulas:
- Actual cost (TCO): based on the average cost of the company car over the last four years.
- Forfaitary formula: a fixed method based on TCO‑2 and home‑work distance.
That choice is binding for three years and applies to all participating employees.
💡 How Vaigo helps
During implementation, Vaigo compares both models so you can choose confidently. Prorated budget calculations are fully automated, with an audit‑ready history for compliance.
3. “What needs to be included in the policy and employee agreement?”
The law requires a written agreement before granting the FMB. It must include:
- the initial budget amount
- the loss of certain tax exemptions (for example, bike allowance or public transport reimbursement)
- any exceptions or combinations with existing benefits
💡 How Vaigo helps
Vaigo offers a digital contract workflow. HR defines the policy parameters, Vaigo generates the legally correct document, and the employee signs digitally. Every agreement is always compliant and up to date.
4. “How do we manage exceptions like bike allowances?”
If an employee received a bike allowance, company bike or public transport subscription during the three months before entering the FMB, that benefit can continue — but must be tracked separately.
💡 How Vaigo helps
Vaigo automatically keeps these transactions (bike leases, reimbursements, public transport subscriptions) outside the FMB budget, removing manual follow‑up and eliminating payroll confusion.
5. “How do we manage housing benefits?”
Employees can use part of their mobility budget to finance rent or mortgage payments under specific conditions.
- They must live within 10 km (as‑the‑crow‑flies) from work. If they move farther away, the benefit must stop immediately.
- Optionally, housing costs can be reimbursed if the employee works from home at least 50% of the time.
💡 How Vaigo helps
Vaigo continuously checks compliance by:
- verifying address, distance, and contract/payment proof
- automatically stopping reimbursements when an address changes
- letting the employee confirm a declaration of honor about housing‑cost limits and the 50% remote‑working threshold
- letting employees log remote‑work days and halting payments automatically if they fall below the legal threshold
6. “Can we exclude certain roles or profiles from the FMB?”
Yes. For example, field sales, technicians, or consultants who need a company car for daily work can be excluded.
💡 How Vaigo helps
Control eligibility by role, function, or department so ineligible employees cannot activate the FMB.
7. “What about professional expenses like parking & tolls?”
Not all mobility‑related costs belong inside the budget. Professional expenses (for example, client visits, tolls, parking) can remain outside the FMB provided they are excluded from the TCO used for FMB calculation.
💡 How Vaigo helps
Vaigo cleanly separates private/commuting mobility (inside the FMB) from professional expenses (outside it). HR decides which cost types count toward the FMB, and Vaigo processes both streams automatically — with clear exports to payroll.
8. “How do we handle bike leasing and day‑to‑day management?”
Bike leasing is an admin trap: under the FMB, the lease cost must be deducted directly from the employee’s budget, not through payroll.
💡 How Vaigo helps
- Employees order through the leasing partner as usual.
- Vaigo automatically imports the lease cost and deducts it from the employee’s budget.
- HR no longer needs to send files to payroll.
- Employees can track their remaining balance in real time.
9. “How do we maintain control and compliance over time?”
Implementing the FMB is one thing — managing it sustainably is another. Budgets evolve, employees change roles or leave, and legislation changes regularly.
💡 How Vaigo helps
Vaigo automates the entire life cycle:
- automatic updates after employee role or address changes
- built‑in fiscal and legal updates
- dashboards for HR and Finance
- automated exports to your social secretariat or payroll system
Your policy stays compliant, transparent, and efficient — without spreadsheets or manual work.
From Regulation to Reality: Vaigo Makes It Work
The Federal Mobility Budget gives HR the opportunity to modernize company mobility — but complex rules and manual processes often stand in the way.
Vaigo turns that complexity into simplicity: one platform bringing together policy, automation, and daily operations.
HR keeps full control, while employees gain the freedom to move more sustainably.
👉 Ready to simplify your mobility budget?
See Vaigo in action. Get a 20‑minute demo of how Vaigo handles every FMB headache—from calculation to payroll.