21.5.83 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 134/7 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Proposal for a Council Directive on the implementation of the principle of equal 
treatment for men and women in occupational social security schemes 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 5 May 1983) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN 
COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the 
European Economic Community, and in particular 
Article 100 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European 
Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas Article 119 of the Treaty provides that each 
Member State shall ensure the application of the 
principle that men and women should receive equal 
pay for equal work; whereas, for the purpose of the 
said Article, pay means the ordinary basic or 
minimum wage or salary and any other consideration, 
whether in cash or in kind, which the worker 
receives, directly or indirectly, in respect of his 
employment from his employer; 
Whereas, although Article 119 does indeed apply 
directly in cases where discrimination can be 
determined solely on the basis of the criteria of equal 
treatment and equal pay, there are also possible 
situations in which achievement of the principle of 
equal pay implies the adoption of additional measures 
which more clearly define its scope; 
Whereas Article 1 (2) of Council Directive 
76/207/EEC of 9 February 1976 on the 
implementation of the principle of equal treatment for 
men and women as regards access to employment, 
vocational training and promotion, and working 
conditions (') provides that, with a view to ensuring 
the progressive implementation of the principle of 
equal treatment in matters of social security, the 
Council, acting on a proposal from the Commission, 
will adopt provisions defining its substance, its scope 
and the arrangements for its application; whereas the Council adopted to this end Directive 79/7/EEC of 
19 December 1978 on the progressive implementation 
of the principle of equal treatment for men and 
women in matters of social security (2); 
Whereas Article 3 (3) of Directive 79/7/EEC 
provides that, with a view to ensuring implementation 
of the principle of equal treatment in occupational 
schemes, the Council, acting on a proposal from the 
Commission, will adopt provisions defining its 
substance, its scope and the arrangements for its 
applications; 
Whereas the principle of equal treatment should be 
implemented in occupational social security schemes 
which provide protection against the risks specified in 
Article 3 (1) of Directive 79/7/EEC as well as those 
which provide, to employees, any other consideration 
in cash or in kind within the meaning of Article 119; 
Whereas implementation of the principle of equal 
treatment does not prejudice the provisions relating to 
the protection of women on the ground of maternity, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 
Article 1 
The object of this Directive is to implement, in 
occupational social security schemes, the principle of 
equal treatment for men and women, hereinafter 
referred to as 'the principle of equal treatment'. 
Article 2 
1. 'Occupational schemes' means schemes whose 
purpose is to provide workers, whether employees or 
self-employed, in an undertaking or group of under­
takings or an occupational sector or group of such 
sectors, with benefits intended to supplement the 
(') OJ No L 39, 14. 2. 1976, p. 40. O OJ No L 6, 10. 1. 1979, p. 24. 
No C 134/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 21.5.83 
benefits provided by statutory social security schemes 
or to replace them, whether affiliation to such 
schemes is compulsory or optional. 2. The principle of equal treatment shall not 
prejudice the provisions relating to the protection of 
women on the ground of maternity. 
2. This Directive shall cover all occupational 
schemes, whether or not declared compulsory by 
administrative measures. 
Article 3 
This Directive shall apply to members of the working 
population, including self-employed persons, whose 
activity is interrupted by illness, accident or 
involuntary unemployment, to persons seeking 
employment and to retired and disabled workers. 
Article 4 
This Directive shall apply to: 
(a) occupational schemes which provide protection 
against the following risks: 
— sickness, 
— invalidity, 
— old age, 
— industrial accidents and occupational diseases, 
— unemployment; 
(b) occupational schemes which provide for other 
social benefits, in cash or in kind, and in 
particular survivors' benefits, family allowances 
and benefits in respect of various periods of leave 
for family reasons, if such benefits are accorded 
to employed persons and thus constitute a 
consideration paid by the employer to the worker 
by reason of the latter's employment. Article 6 
1. Provisions contrary to the principle of equal 
treatment shall include those based on sex, either 
directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to 
marital or family status, intended inter alia to: 
(a) specify those persons who may participate in an 
occupational scheme; 
(b) fix the compulsory or optional nature of par­
ticipation in an occupational scheme; 
(c) lay down different rules as regards the age of 
entry into the scheme or the minimum period of 
employment or affiliation to the scheme required 
to obtain the benefits thereof; 
(d) lay down different rules for the reimbursement of 
contributions where a worker leaves a scheme 
without having fulfilled the conditions 
guaranteeing him a deferred right to long-term 
benefits; 
(e) set different conditions for the grant of benefits 
or restrict such benefits to workers of one sex 
only; 
(f) fix different retirement ages; 
(g) suspend the retention or acquisition of rights 
during periods of maternity leave or family leave 
granted by law or collective agreement; 
Article 5 
1. The principle of equal treatment shall imply that 
there be no discrimination whatsoever on the basis of 
sex, either directly or indirectly by reference in 
particular to marital or family status, especially as 
regards: 
— the scope of the schemes and the conditions of 
access thereto, 
— the obligation to contribute and the calculation of 
contributions, 
— the calculation of benefits, including sup­
plementary benefits due in respect of a spouse or 
dependants, and the conditions governing the 
duration and retention of entitlement to benefits. (h) provide for benefits whose level or amount differ 
and, in particular, set the level of benefits by 
taking into account different factors of calcu­
lation, actuarial or otherwise, with regard to the 
phenomena of ill health, mortality or life 
expectancy; 
(i) set contributions at different rates, in particular 
by taking into account the factors of calculation 
mentioned under (h); 
(j) lay down different standards or standards 
applicable only to workers of a given sex as 
regards the guarantee or retention of entitlement 
to deferred benefits where a worker leaves a 
scheme or as regards the transfer of such 
entitlement to another scheme. 
21.5.83 Official Journal of the European Communities NoC 134/9 
2. Where the grant of certain subsidiary benefits is 
left to the discretionary power of a scheme's 
management bodies, the said bodies must take 
account of the principle of equal treatment. 
Article 7 
Member States shall take all necessary measures to 
ensure that: 
(a) provisions contrary to the principle of equal 
treatment in collective agreements, staff rules of 
undertakings or any other arrangements relating 
to occupational schemes are null and void, or 
may be declared null and void or amended; 
(b) schemes containing such provisions may not be 
approved or declared compulsory by 
administrative measures. 
Article 8 
Member States shall take all necessary measures to 
ensure that provisions of occupational schemes 
contrary to the principle of equal treatment are 
revised before 1 January 1986. 
Article 9 
1. This Directive shall be without prejudice to the 
right of Member States to defer compulsory 
application of the principle of equal treatment with 
regard to: 
(a) determination of pensionable age for the purposes 
of granting old-age or retirement pensions; 
(b) pension awarded to the surviving spouse. 
2. The right referred to above may be exercised 
provided that the principle of equal treatment has not 
yet been implemented in the corresponding provisions 
of statutory social security schemes. 
3. Compulsory implementation of the principle of 
equal treatment shall not under any circumstances be 
deferred beyond the date on which such equality is 
achieved in statutory schemes. 
Article 10 
1. This Directive shall be without prejudice to the 
methods of calculating the benefits referred to in Article 6 (1) (h), in so far as they are calculated on 
the basis of different actuarial data for each sex, 
whether they are already settled and being paid or to 
be settled and paid in due course and which relate to 
a period of affiliation to an occupational scheme prior 
to the revision of that scheme as provided for in 
Article 8, from continuing to be governed by the 
provisions of the occupational scheme in force during 
the period of affiliation. 
2. This Directive shall also be without prejudice to 
the establishing of appropriate methods, such as the 
payment of retroactive contribution supplements, 
which guarantee equal benefits for the earlier period 
of affiliation. 
Article 11 
Member States shall introduce into their national 
legal systems such measures as are necessary to enable 
all persons who consider themselves injured by a 
failure to apply the principle of equal treatment to 
pursue their claims before the courts, possibly after 
bringing the matters before other competent auth­
orities. 
Article 12 
Member States shall take all measures necessary to 
protect workers against dismissal where this 
constitutes a response on the part of the employer to 
a complaint made within an undertaking or to the 
institution of legal proceedings aimed at enforcing 
compliance with the principle of equal treatment. 
Article 13 
1. Member States shall bring into force such laws, 
regulations and administrative provisions as are 
necessary in order to comply with this Directive 
before 1 January 1985. They shall immediately inform 
the Commission thereof. 
2. Member States shall communicate to the 
Commission, before 1 January 1987, all information 
necessary to enable the Commission to draw up a 
report on the application of this Directive for 
submission to the Council. 
Article 14 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.