Supplementary pensions - keeping your rights when moving abroad
The legislation guarantees that people who move to another EU country to work will not lose the benefits they have already acquired in their existing company or occupational pension scheme.
ACT
Directive 2014/50/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on minimum requirements for enhancing worker mobility between Member States by improving the acquisition and preservation of supplementary pension rights.
SUMMARY
EU countries provide state pensions for their citizens when they retire. Since the early days of the EU, these basic rights have been respected when someone leaves one country to work or live in another.
For the increasing number of people who have an additional pension scheme linked to their employment, and later decide to work abroad, the situation was far less clear. Many could lose out on their future pension if they left the job before fulfilling conditions such as lengthy qualifying periods. These either penalised them or deterred them from moving.
The legislation ensures that anyone with supplementary pension rights does not lose out when they go to live or work in another EU country.
Protecting rights
The directive stipulates the following:
Information
Workers in a pension scheme can ask its administrators how stopping employment or moving would affect their supplementary pension rights and the conditions that would apply to the future treatment of those rights.
People who have left the scheme must be informed about the value and treatment of their rights.
Timetable
The provisions of the legislation must be in place by 21 May 2018. The Commission will draft a report on its implementation by 21 May 2020.
REFERENCES
Act |
Entry into force |
Deadline for transposition in the Member States |
Official Journal |
Directive 2014/50/EU |
20.5.2014 |
21.5.2018 |
OJ L 128 of 30.4.2014 |
Last updated: 23.07.2014