Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2014:107
Date: 2014-02-27
Language of the case: German
Court formation: Third Chamber
Subject matter: Social security for migrant workers
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Germany

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber), 27 February 2014 1. Social security — Migrant workers — Family allowances — Pensioners — Pensions for old age, invalidity or an accident at work or occupational disease — Concept —Pension for bringing up children provided for in the legislation of a Member State and granted, in the event of death, to the former spouse of the deceased for the purposes of bringing up the children of that former spouse — Not included (Council Regulation No 1408/71, as amended by Regulation No 592/2008, Art. 77(1)) 2. Social security — Migrant workers — Family allowances — Pensioners — Concept of pension — Pension for bringing up children provided for in the legislation of a Member State and granted, in the event of death, to the former spouse of the deceased for the purposes of bringing up the children of that former spouse — Included (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 883/2004, Recital 34 and Art. 1(w)(z) and 67; Council Regulation No 1408/71, as amended by Regulation No 592/2008, Art. 77(1)) 1. On a proper construction of Article 77(1) of Regulation No 1408/71, in the version amended and updated by Regulation No 118/97, as amended by Regulation No 592/2008, a benefit such as the pension for bringing up children provided for in the legislation of a Member State, which is granted, in the event of death, to the former spouse of the deceased for the purposes of bringing up the children of that former spouse, cannot be treated in the same way as pensions for old age, invalidity or an accident at work or occupational disease within the meaning of Article 77 of Regulation No 1408/71. The classification of a benefit in the general scheme of Regulation No 1408/71 is based essentially on the constituent elements of that benefit, in particular its purposes and the conditions on which it is granted, and not on the classification which is made by the national legislation. That pension for bringing up children does not require an accident at work or occupational disease or physical, mental or psychological injury hindering the pursuit of a professional activity by the person entitled. That pension for bringing up children presupposes the death of a former spouse. It is intended to compensate the right to receive a maintenance payment linked to responsibility for a dependent child, which ended with that death, and to prevent the surviving parent being constrained to work when that is not in the interests of the child. (see paras 36, 37, 39, 45, operative part 1) 2. On a proper construction of Article 67 of Regulation No 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems, a benefit such as the pension for bringing up children provided for in the legislation of a Member State, which is granted, in the event of death, to the former spouse of the deceased for the purposes of bringing up the children of that former spouse is covered by the concept of pension within the meaning of Article 67. On the basis of the new definition of the phrase ‘family benefits’, set out in Article 1(z) of Regulation No 883/2004, the distinction drawn in the context of the application of Regulation No 1408/71, in the version amended and updated by Regulation No 118/97, as amended by Regulation No 592/2008, between ‘family allowances’ and ‘family benefits’ is not intended to apply to situations falling within the ambit of Regulation No 883/2004, the latter seeking, in accordance with recital 34 thereof, to regulate all such family benefits since they have a very broad scope. The application of Article 67 of Regulation No 883/2004, unlike that of Article 77(1) of Regulation No 1408/71, is not limited to persons receiving certain categories of pensions or annuities. Accordingly, the definition of the word ‘pension’, set out in Article 1(w) of Regulation No 883/2004 includes, besides pensions linked to the previous pursuit of a salaried or non-salaried occupation, such as those that were referred to in Article 77(1) of Regulation No 1408/71, pensions paid in the event of death, like the pension for bringing up children at issue. (see paras 48, 50, 51, 53, operative part 2)