Decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament of 12 June 2023 amending the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members of the European Parliament 2023/C 227/05
Date: 2023-06-12
Institutions: Bureau of the European Parliament
Subjects: Member of the European Parliament, Statute for Members of the Parliament, pension fund, retirement conditions, supplementary pension




C_2023227EN.01000501.xml










29.6.2023   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 227/5






DECISION OF THE BUREAU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
of 12 June 2023
amending the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members of the European Parliament
(2023/C 227/05)
THE BUREAU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 223(2) thereof,
Having regard to the Statute for Members of the European Parliament (1),
Having regard to Rule 25 of the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament,
Whereas:






(1)


Members of the European Parliament were able to join an additional pension scheme on a voluntary basis from 1989 until the end of the sixth parliamentary term (2004 to 2009) (the Additional (Voluntary) Pension Scheme - ‘the Scheme’). The rights and obligations under that Scheme are listed in Annex VII to the Rules Governing the Payment of Expenses and Allowances to Members of the European Parliament (PEAM rules), as referred to in Article 76 of the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members of the European Parliament (2) (‘the Implementing Measures’). That Scheme is financed by the Additional (Voluntary) Pension Fund (‘the Fund’) which is now in an extremely difficult financial situation. According to the actuarial report of the Fund of 17 February 2023, as of 31 December 2022, under the rules currently governing the Scheme, the yearly pension payments are expected to amount to an average of EUR 22 to 23 million per year until 2030, and annual pension payments are estimated to remain above EUR 10 million until 2047, and above EUR 100 000 until 2073 included. The residual assets of the Fund, amounting to EUR 52,8 million in its draft annual accounts as of 31 December 2022, were estimated at EUR 43 to 44 million by the end of May 2023 and continue to dwindle rapidly, since, in 2023, approximately EUR 1,9 million per month will be required to service monthly pension payments. The residual assets of the Fund, which are intended to finance the Scheme, could already be exhausted in 2024, depending on the financial markets, and will be exhausted in 2025 at the latest, leaving an expected unfinanced actuarial deficit totalling approximatively EUR 310 million.










(2)


At its meetings of 17 April and 22 May 2023, the Bureau discussed the Fund’s financial situation along with various options and measures aimed at addressing the Fund’s extremely serious liquidity problem and reducing its actuarial deficit, with a view to safeguarding the Fund in the short term, in the interest of all current and future beneficiaries of the Scheme and avoiding or, at least, reducing negative consequences for the European taxpayer. It concluded that, in view of those aims, a number of economically inevitable measures should be taken.










(3)


Firstly, additional pensions which have not yet become payable should be subject to further conditions and derogations. In particular, the retirement age should be increased from the current age of 65 years to 67 years. According to an actuarial simulation requested by Parliament’s services, this measure is expected to lead to total savings of EUR 2 million.










(4)


Secondly, since, by itself, the raising of the age will not be sufficient to address the Fund’s extremely serious liquidity problem and to reduce its actuarial deficit, the amount of pensions under the Scheme should be reduced by 50 % and those pensions should no longer be updated. Given the extreme extent of the Fund’s liquidity problem compared to its long term obligations, and its actuarial deficit, those measures should apply not only to future beneficiaries holding pension rights in the process of being acquired but also to current beneficiaries already holding acquired pension rights. According to an actuarial simulation requested by Parliament’s services, the reduction of pensions is expected to lead to savings of EUR 181,4 million and the discontinuance of the updating of pensions to savings of EUR 40,4 million.










(5)


The combined measures of raising the retirement age, reducing the amount of pensions under the Scheme by 50 % and discontinuing the updating of pensions are expected to lead to an estimated reduction of the future pension obligations from EUR 362,7 million to EUR 139 million (as of 31 December 2022), resulting in an extension of the expected lifespan of the Fund by two or three years, to 2027, and to a reduction of the actuarial deficit of the Fund from approximately EUR 310 million to approximately EUR 86 million.










(6)


Those combined measures are necessary in view of the need to achieve the objectives of safeguarding the Fund in the short term and of avoiding or, at least, reducing negative consequences for the European taxpayer, and are proportionate. In reaching that conclusion, account was taken, in particular, of the deterioration of the financial sustainability of the Fund due, inter alia, to the repercussions on the financial markets of the 2007-2008 financial crisis and of the war in Ukraine, of the extent of the liquidity problem and of the actuarial deficit of the Fund and of the interests of the current and future beneficiaries of the Scheme. Other less intrusive measures were duly taken into account by the Bureau which rejected them as insufficient. With regard to the current beneficiaries of the Scheme who hold acquired rights, the Bureau also took into account the ratio of the total amount of the pension payments received individually by them under the Scheme compared to their total individual contributions, which is, on average, 4,7:1, and goes up to 14,3:1 for 16 % of the current pensioners. Individual cases of hardship, in which the ability of a former Member or other beneficiary to meet his or her needs is seriously affected, should be covered by a hardship clause.










(7)


In the light of the changes to the conditions of the Scheme and the uncertainties related to the future of both the Fund and the Scheme, Members and former Members should have the possibility to apply, on a voluntary basis and for a limited period, for the payment of the additional pension in the form of a one-off final lump sum. Incentives should be provided to encourage such applications, since it is to be expected that they will reduce the overall future payment obligations and the actuarial deficit. At the same time, payments already received under the Scheme should be taken into account.










(8)


In the light of the extremely serious nature of the liquidity problem and of the actuarial deficit of the Fund, the new conditions and derogations should apply from 1 July 2023, without any transitional regime applying, since it would seriously jeopardise the envisaged financial effects of the adopted measures,




HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1
Article 76 of the Implementing Measures is amended as follows:






(1)


paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

‘1.   An additional pension which becomes payable from 1 July 2023 to former Members or other beneficiaries pursuant to Articles 1, 3 and 4 of Annex VII to the PEAM Rules shall be paid subject to the following conditions and derogations:






(a)


the amount of the pension pursuant to Article 2(1) of Annex VII to the PEAM Rules and the amounts of the maximum and minimum pensions in accordance with Article 2(2) of that Annex shall be reduced by 50 %;










(b)


the basic salary of a Judge at the Court of Justice of the European Union within the sense of Article 2(1) and (2) of Annex VII to the PEAM Rules shall be the basic salary on 30 June 2023 and shall not be updated after that date;










(c)


the pension pursuant to Article 1 of Annex VII to the PEAM Rules shall be payable from the first day of the calendar month following the date when the Member reaches the age of 67;










(d)


where a Member is under 67 years of age at the time of death, entitlement to the survivor’s and orphan’s pensions pursuant to Article 4(1) of Annex VII to the PEAM Rules shall be deferred until the first day of the calendar month following that in which the deceased Member would have reached the age of 67.’




;









(2)


the following paragraphs are inserted:

‘1a.   For the pensions which became payable to former Members or other beneficiaries pursuant to Articles 1, 3 and 4 of Annex VII to the PEAM Rules before 1 July 2023, the amounts due from that day on shall be reduced and adjusted as follows:






(a)


the amount of the pension pursuant to Article 2(1) of Annex VII to the PEAM Rules and the amounts of the maximum and minimum pensions in accordance with Article 2(2) of that Annex shall be reduced by 50 %;










(b)


the basic salary of a Judge at the Court of Justice of the European Union within the sense of Article 2(1) and (2) of Annex VII to the PEAM Rules shall be the basic salary on 30 June 2023 and shall not be updated after that date;






1b.   If, due to the application of paragraph 1, points (a) and/or (b), or paragraph 1a, points (a) and/or (b), the former Member or other beneficiary would have to live below or further below the last available at-risk-of-poverty threshold for the State of his or her permanent residence he or she may submit an application for an increase of pension to the Quaestors. That threshold shall be the one determined by Eurostat, if applicable. That application shall be accompanied by all relevant information and supporting documents to allow Parliament to assess the former Member’s or other beneficiary’s other revenues and his or her financial situation, such as a certificate issued by a competent national authority attesting to his or her other revenues and financial situation.
Taking into account the other revenues and financial situation of the former Member or other beneficiary, the Quaestors may grant an increase in the pension so that it reaches the at-risk-of poverty threshold. However, the amount of the pension after such increase shall not be higher than the pension that would have been provided pursuant to Articles 1 to 4 of Annex VII to the PEAM Rules, as applicable on 30 June 2023.
When the Quaestors have granted an increase in the pension, the former Member or other beneficiary concerned shall submit, on a yearly basis, an update of the supporting documents referred to in the first subparagraph to the competent service of the European Parliament, for the purpose of assessing compliance over time with the conditions for granting the increase. Where the yearly assessment by the competent service of the European Parliament results in a need to repeal the initial decision or to increase the pension as compared to the one that was initially granted, the competent service of the European Parliament shall submit a proposal to that end to the Quaestors for their decision. All other adjustments to the increase that was initially granted shall be decided by the competent service of the European Parliament.
If the former Member or other beneficiary does not agree with a decision adopted by the Quaestors under the second or third subparagraph of this paragraph, he or she may, within two months after notification of that decision, request that the matter be referred to the Bureau, in accordance with Article 72(3).’
;









(3)


paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:

‘2.   Any additional pension pursuant to Articles 1 and 2 of Annex VII to the PEAM Rules, which has not yet become payable on 1 January 2019, shall be subject to a special levy amounting to 5 % of the nominal amount of the pension. The levy shall be directly payable to the Additional (Voluntary) Pension Fund.’
;









(4)


the following paragraph is added:

‘5.   Without prejudice to Article 1(6) of Annex VII to the PEAM Rules, during a period of six months from 1 July 2023, a Member or former Member, who has joined the Additional (Voluntary) Pension Scheme within the meaning of Annex VII to the PEAM Rules may lodge an application to withdraw from the Additional (Voluntary) Pension Scheme and to receive the additional pension in the form of a one-off lump sum final payment. That application shall be signed by the Member or former Member and submitted by him or her to the Secretary General of the European Parliament. An application countersigned by the Secretary General shall become binding and irrevocable. The Secretary General may delegate the power to countersign to a representative of the competent service of the European Parliament.
The amount of the one-off final payment by a lump sum shall be established by the competent service of the European Parliament as of the end of the month of reception of the application referred to under the first subparagraph. It shall be calculated as the sum of two amounts. The first amount shall correspond to the total of the contributions in nominal value brought by the Member or former Member concerned to the Additional (Voluntary) Pension Scheme, after the deduction of the pension payments already received by him or her, in nominal value. That deduction shall not exceed the total amount of the contributions brought by him or her to the Additional (Voluntary) Pension Scheme. The second amount shall correspond to 20 % of the total of the contributions in nominal value brought by the Member or former Member concerned to the Additional (Voluntary) Pension Scheme. All amounts shall be paid in euros.
All acquired rights and/or future entitlements in the pension scheme of the Member, former Member or future other beneficiary concerned shall be settled definitively by the end of the month of reception of the application referred to in the first subparagraph. In particular, the entitlements laid down in Articles 1, 3 and 4 of Annex VII to the PEAM Rules shall no longer apply, and paragraph 1b of this Article shall not apply to the Member, former Member or future other beneficiary concerned.
The one-off final payment by a lump sum shall be paid at the latest three months after the application referred to under the first subparagraph was received by Parliament.’
.





Article 2
This Decision shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Article 1 of this Decision shall apply from 1 July 2023.
For the period from 1 January 2019 to 30 June 2023, Article 76 of the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members of the European Parliament, as amended by the Decision of the Bureau of 10 December 2018 (3), shall remain applicable.



(1)  Decision 2005/684/EC, Euratom of the European Parliament of 28 September 2005 adopting the Statute for Members of the European Parliament (OJ L 262, 7.10.2005, p. 1).

(2)  Decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament of 19 May and 9 July 2008 concerning implementing measures for the Statute for Members of the European Parliament (OJ C 159, 13.7.2009, p. 1).

(3)  Decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament of 10 December 2018 amending the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members of the European Parliament (OJ C 466, 28.12.2018, p. 8).