Case C‑430/15

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

v

Tolley

(Request for a preliminary ruling from the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling — Social security — Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 — Care component of disability living allowance — Person insured against the risk of old age who has definitively ceased all occupational activity — Concepts of ‘sickness benefit and ‘invalidity benefit’ — Exportability)

Summary — Judgment of the Court (First Chamber), 1 February 2017

Social security—Migrant workers—Sickness insurance—Legislation of the competent State making entitlement to the care component of disability living allowance subject to a condition as to residence and presence on the territory of that Member State—Unlawful—Continuance, after the transfer of residence to another Member State, of the provision of benefits granted by the competent State—Condition—Authorisation to transfer residence to another Member State obtained from the competent institution

Social security—Migrant workers—Legislation applicable—Person acquiring rights to an old-age pension by virtue of the contributions paid during a given period to the social security scheme of a Member State—Legislation of that Member State subsequently ceasing to be applicable to that person—Lawfulness

Social security—Migrant workers—EU rules—Scope ratione personae—Employed or self-employed person within the meaning of Regulation No 1408/71—Concept—Person insured against the risk of old age under a social security scheme applying to all residents and identifying that person as an employed person—Included—Death of that person before reaching the retirement age—Irrelevant

See the text of the decision. (see paras 38, 40-42)

A benefit such as the care component of disability living allowance is a sickness benefit for the purposes of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons, to self-employed persons and to members of their families moving within the Community, in the version amended and updated by Council Regulation (EC) No 118/97 of 2 December 1996, as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 307/1999 of 8 February 1999. The fact that, for the purposes of grant of the care component of disability living allowance, the reduction in mobility must relate to a substantial period of time is not such as to change the purpose of that allowance, which is to improve the quality of life of persons reliant on care (see, by analogy, judgment of 18 October 2007, Commission v Parliament and Council, C‑299/05, EU:C:2007:608, paragraph 63). Furthermore, the Court has held that benefits, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, relating to the risk of reliance on care must be treated as sickness benefits, within the meaning of Article 4(1)(a) of Regulation No 1408/71, although, unlike sickness benefits stricto sensu, they are not in principle intended to be paid on a short-term basis and they may, particularly as regards the details of their application, display characteristics which in practice also resemble to a certain extent the invalidity and old-age branches (see, to that effect, judgment of 30 June 2011, da Silva Martins, C‑388/09, EU:C:2011:439, paragraphs 47 and 48). (see paras 53-55, operative part 1)

Article 13(2)(f) of Regulation No 1408/71, in the version amended and updated by Regulation No 118/97, as amended by Regulation No 307/1999, must be interpreted as meaning that the fact that a person has acquired rights to an old-age pension by virtue of the contributions paid during a given period to the social security scheme of a Member State does not preclude the legislation of that Member State from subsequently ceasing to be applicable to that person. It is for the national court to determine, in the light of the circumstances of the case before it and of the provisions of the applicable national law, when that legislation ceased to be applicable to that person. As is stated in Article 10b of Council Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 of 21 March 1972 laying down the procedure for implementing Regulation No 1408/71 (OJ, English Special Edition 1972 (I), p. 160), as amended by Council Regulation (EEC) No 2195/91 of 25 June 1991 (OJ 1991 L 206, p. 2), the date and conditions on which the legislation of a Member State ceases to be applicable to a person referred to in Article 13(2)(f) of Regulation No 1408/71 are to be determined in accordance with that legislation. Furthermore, in determining when the legislation of a Member State ceases to be applicable to a person, account is also to be taken, where appropriate, of Annex VI to Regulation No 1408/71, which sets out special procedures for applying the legislation of certain Member States. (see paras 65, 66, 69, operative part 2)