Order — ECLI:EU:C:2004:283
Date: 2004-04-30
Language of the case: French
Court formation: Third Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Social Policy
Concepts: Equality for men and women
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Belgium

Summary of the Order Social policy – Equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security – Directive 79/7 – Permitted derogation in respect of the determination of statutory pensionable age – Scope – Limitation exclusively to forms of discrimination necessarily and objectively linked to the difference in retirement age – Different method of calculating retirement pensions – Reduction of the amount for early retirement – Whether permissible (Council Directive 79/7, Arts 4(1) and 7(1)(a))) Article 4(1) of Directive 79/7, on the progressive implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security, read in conjunction with Article 7(1)(a) of the directive, must be interpreted as meaning that where the national regulations of a Member State have retained a difference in retirement ages between men and women, it does not preclude that Member State, in circumstances such as those of the main proceedings, from calculating the amount of the retirement pension differently according to the sex of the worker or from applying in the case of men, who alone are entitled to claim a retirement pension in advance in the five years before the normal retirement age, a reduction of 5% for each year by which the pension is drawn early. (see para. 47, operative part)