#62024CJ0717EU Court Clarifies Pension Credit for Cross-Border Special Occupations
AI-generated summary for informational purposes only. Not legal advice. See the original source for the authoritative text.
EU social security rules require pension authorities to count comparable work done in another Member State when a worker claims pension advantages linked to a specific job, such as underground mining. A country cannot deny those advantages simply because the worker performed part of the same activity across the border. The ruling matters for workers in demanding or specially treated occupations, and for pension bodies calculating early retirement rights. Authorities must look at the nature of the work and the pension advantage under national law, even if the other country no longer uses the same formal classification system.
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Key Changes
- Pension authorities must count comparable periods of special work completed in another EU Member State when calculating job-based pension advantages.
- A formal separate pension scheme is not required; special national pension rules for a specific occupation can be enough.
- Workers should not lose early retirement advantages only because they exercised free movement and continued the same work in another Member State.
Obligations
What this law requires
EU social security coordination rules require pension authorities, when assessing entitlement to pension advantages linked to work in a specific activity or special occupation, to take account of comparable periods of insurance completed in another Member State.
A Member State pension authority may not refuse pension advantages solely because part of the worker’s comparable activity, such as underground mining, was performed in another Member State.
For pension claims involving special or demanding occupations, authorities must examine the nature of the work performed and the pension advantage provided under national law, rather than relying only on whether the other Member State uses the same formal classification system.
The judgment concerns the interpretation of Article 51(1) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 on aggregation of insurance periods for retirement pensions, not a new standalone legislative obligation.