Judgment of the Court (Seventh Chamber) of 12 October 2023 (request for a preliminary ruling from the tribunal du travail francophone de Bruxelles — Belgium) — HK v Service fédéral des Pensions

(Case C-45/22, (1) Service fédéral des Pensions)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Social security for migrant workers - Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 - Article 55(1)(a) - Overlapping of benefits of a different kind - Application of national rules against overlapping - Calculation of the survivors’ pension - Division of the amounts of the benefit or benefits or other income, as taken into account, by the number of benefits - Concept of ‘amounts as they have been taken into account’)

(C/2023/933)

Language of the case: French

Referring court

Tribunal du travail francophone de Bruxelles

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: HK

Defendant: Service fédéral des Pensions,

Operative part of the judgment

Article 55(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the coordination of social security systems

must be interpreted as meaning that, where the receipt of benefits of a different kind or of other income entails the application of national rules against overlapping with regard to independent benefits, it allows each Member State concerned to provide, in its legal system, for the purpose of calculating the amount of benefit to be paid, either that the total amount of income taken into account by those national rules must be divided by the number of benefits concerned or that it is appropriate to divide by that same number the proportion of income which exceeds the ceiling in respect of overlapping laid down by those national rules.

---

(1)   OJ C 191, 10.5.2022.