Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:1999:452
Date: 1999-09-23
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Social Policy
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: United Kingdom

Summary of the Judgment 
1. Social policy — Equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security — 
Matters covered by Directive 79/7 — Winter fuel payment payable to those who have 
reached a minimum age rather than on the basis of a lack of financial means — 
Included 
(Council Directive 79/7, Art. 3(1)) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-3 82/98 
2. Social policy — Equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security — 
Directive 79/7 — Derogation allowed in respect of possible consequences for other 
benefits of different pensionable ages — Scope — Limited to forms of discrimination 
necessarily and objectively linked to the difference in pensionable ages — Discrimina­
tion with regard to grant of a winter fuel payment — Excluded 
(Council Directive 79/7, Art. 7(2) (a)) 
1. Article 3(1) of Directive 79/7 on the 
progressive implementation of the prin­
ciple of equal treatment for men and 
women in matters of social security, 
which defines the matters covered by 
the Directive, must be interpreted as 
meaning that a winter fuel payment, 
which is part of a statutory scheme, is 
covered by that directive in so far as 
payment of the benefit is always sub­
ject to the recipients having reached 
statutory retirement age and it is there­
fore aimed at protecting them against 
the risk of old age mentioned in that 
article. The benefit may be granted to 
elderly persons, even if they do not 
have financial difficulties, so that pro­
tection against a lack of financial 
means cannot be considered to be the 
aim of the benefit. 
2. The derogation from the principle of 
equal treatment for men and women 
laid down in Article 7(1)(a) of Direc­
tive 79/7 on the progressive implemen­
tation of the principle of equal treat­
ment for men and women in matters of 
social security is not applicable to a 
benefit such as the winter fuel pay­
ment, which is subject to the condition 
that the recipient has reached statutory 
retirement age, that is to say the age of 
60 for women and 65 for men. 
Such discrimination is not objectively 
and necessarily linked to the difference 
in retirement age for men and women. 
First, from the point of view of the 
financial equilibrium of the social 
security system, it is not necessary 
either for the financial equilibrium of 
contributory pension schemes, in view 
of the fact that the benefits are granted 
under a non-contributory scheme, or 
for the financial equilibrium of the 
social security system as a whole. 
Secondly, from the point of view of 
consistency between the retirement 
pension scheme and the other benefit 
scheme, it is not required, since if the 
benefit is designed to provide protec­
tion against the risk of old age and 
must, therefore, be paid only to those 
above a certain age, it does not follow 
that that age must necessarily coincide 
with the statutory age of retirement 
and, as a result, be different for men 
and women. 
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