CELEX: 51995PC0735
Language: en
Date: 1996-01-10
Title: Proposal for a Council Regulation amending, for the benefit of beneficiaries of pre-retirement benefits, Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons, to self-employed persons and to the members of their families moving within the Community, and Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 laying down the procedure for implementing Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71

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51995PC0735

Proposal for a Council Regulation amending, for the benefit of beneficiaries of pre-retirement benefits, Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons, to self-employed persons and to the members of their families moving within the Community, and Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 laying down the procedure for implementing Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71  /* COM/95/0735 FINAL - CNS 96/0001 */  

Official Journal C 062 , 01/03/1996 P. 0014

Proposal for a Council Regulation amending, for the benefit of beneficiaries of pre-retirement  benefits, Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 on the application of social security schemes to employed  persons, to self-employed persons and to the members of their families moving within the Community,  and Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 laying down the procedure for implementing Regulation (EEC) No  1408/71(96/C  62/05)(Text with EEA relevance)COM(95) 735 final - 96/0001(CNS)(Submitted  by the Commission on 12 January 1996)THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular  Articles 51 and 235 thereof, Having regard to the proposal of the Commission, submitted after consulting the Administrative  Commission on Social Security for Migrant Workers, Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament, Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee, Whereas certain shortcomings in the Community rules concerned have emerged during implementation of  Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71; whereas it is expedient to make certain improvements to the rights of  migrant workers; Whereas, in particular, account should be taken of various measures taken in the Member States to  induce elderly workers to make way for younger workers or to refrain from requesting the employment  services to help them in finding work, by providing them with a specific guaranteed income level  until they reach retirement age; Whereas the granting of these benefits, in accordance with their objective and unlike normal  unemployement benefits, is not subject to the condition that the beneficiary remains available to  the employment services; whereas the condition of residence that may be linked to the payments of  these benefits should therefore be abolished for the beneficiaries; whereas for this purpose the  export of benefits should be guaranteed for workers already receiving such benefits in the  territory of the competent State who transfer their place of residence to the territory of another  Member State; whereas provision should also be made for the payment of these benefits to  beneficiaries who during their last employment resided in the territory of a Member State other  than the competent Member State; Whereas there are grounds for adapting the provisions governing sickness benefits and family  benefits to the provisions applicable to beneficiaries of pre-retirement benefits; Whereas there are grounds for completing Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 for the purpose of laying down  the necessary procedure for any checks that have to be carried out; Whereas in order to attain the objective of the free movement of workers in the domain of social  security, it is necessary and appropriate for an amendment of the rules on the coordination of  national social security schemes to be made through a Community legal instrument that is binding  and directly applicable in each Member State; Whereas this is in conformity with the provisions of the third paragraph of Article 3B of the  Treaty, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 is hereby amended as follows: 1. In Article 1(a) the third subparagraph of (j) shall be replaced by the following: 'The provisions of the preceding subparagraph shall not have the effect of exempting from the scope  of this Regulation the contractual provisions concerning pre-retirement benefits.`(b) The  following paragraph shall be added after (v): '(w) "pre-retirement benefits" mean all cash benefits, other than an early retirement benefit  provided to wholly unemployed workers from a specified age until the age at which they qualify for  an old-age pension or an unreduced early retirement pension, the receipt of which is not  conditional upon the person concerned being available to the employment services of the competent  State.`2. In Article 4the following point (i) shall be added: '(i) the pre-retirement benefits`. 3. In Article 12 paragraph 3 shall be replaced by the following: '3.  The provisions of the legislation of a Member State for reduction, suspension or withdrawal of  benefit in the case of a person in receipt of invalidity benefits or anticipatory old-age benefits  or pre-retirement benefits pursuing a professional or trade activity may be invoked against such  person even though he is pursuing the activity in the territory of another Member State.`4. The  following new Article 25a shall be added after Article 25: 'Section 3aBeneficiaries of pre-retirement pensions and members of their familiesArticle 25a1.   The provisions of Article 19 shall apply mutatis mutandis to beneficiaries of pre-retirement  pensions and to members of their families. 2.  The provisions of Article 20 shall apply mutatis mutandis to beneficiaries of pre-retirement  benefits and to members of their families in so far as these beneficiaries pursued their last  professional trade or activity as frontier workers in the competent Member State.`5. In Article  44paragraph 3 shall be replaced by the following: '3.  This chapter shall not apply to: (a) pre-retirement benefits, or(b) to increases in pension or to supplements for pensions in  respect of children or to orphans' pensions granted in accordance with the provision of Chapter  8.`6. The following new Chapter 6a shall be inserted after Chapter 6 of Title III: 'CHAPTER 6aPRE-RETIREMENTArticle 71aAggregation of periods of insurance or employment -  Calculation of benefitsArticles 67 and 68 shall apply mutatis mutandis to pre-retirement  benefitArticle 71bRules relating to the granting of pre-retirement benefits to beneficiaries  transferring their place of residence to a Member State other than the State in which they were  last employed and to beneficiaries who, during their last employment, resided in a Member State  other than the competent State1.  Beneficiaries of a pre-retirement pension under the legislation  of a Member State who reside in that State shall retain the right to such benefit if they transfer  their place of residence to the territory of another Member State. 2. (a) An employed person who, during his last employment, resided in the territory of a Member  State other than the competent State, shall qualify for the pre-retirement benefits provided for by  the legislation of the latter State as though he resided there. (b) The institution of the place of residence of such worker shall reimburse that benefit to the  competent institution up to the amount of the unemployement benefits that it would have had to pay  to the person concerned, in accordance with Article 71 (1) (a) (ii) or (b) (ii) if he had made  himself available for work to the employment services of the place of residence. (c) The reimbursement referred to in (b) shall be determined and made by common assent between the  Member States concerned or the competent authorities of these States. These States or their  competent authorities may waive all reimbursements between the institutions coming under their  jurisdiction. (d) The obligation to make reimbursements shall lapse if the worker referred to in (a) transfers  his place of residence to another Member State. 3.  The institution of the place of residence shall carry out, or have carried out any checks  necessary to ascertain whether the beneficiary of the pre-retirement benefit still satisfies the  conditions governing the retention of the right to benefits provided for by the legislation of the  competent State. The procedure for such checks shall be laid down in the implementing  Regulation.`7. The following new Article 74a shall be added after Article 74: 'Article 74aBeneficiaries of pre-retirement benefits, the members of whose families reside in a  Member State other than the competent StateA beneficiary of a pre-retirement benefit under the  legislation of a Member State shall be entitled, in respect of the members of his family who are  residing in another Member State, to the family benefits provided for by the legislation of the  former State, as if they were residing in that State, subject to the provisions of Annex  VI.`Article 2 Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 is hereby amended as follows: 1. The following new Article 26a shall be added after Article 26: 'The application of Article 25aArticle 26aThe provisions of Articles 17 to 19 of the implementing  Regulation shall apply mutatis mutandis to the employed persons referred to in Article 25a of the  Regulation.`2. The following new Article 84a shall be added after Article 84: 'The application of Article 71bArticle 84aThe granting of pre-retirement benefits to  beneficiaries who do not reside in the competent Member State1.  In order to retain the right to  pre-retirement benefits, a beneficiary within the meaning of Article 71b of the Regulation shall be  obliged to present to the institution of his place of residence a certificate on which the  competent institution shall indicate any facts by virtue of which the right to benefits could be  withdrawn or amended. 2.  The institution of the place of residence of the person concerned shall carry or have carried  out any necessary checks on these facts. It shall inform the competent institution of the  occurrence of any fact referred to in paragraph 1 as soon as it comes to its notice.`Article 3  This Regulation shall enter into force on the first day of the month following its publication in  the Official Journal of the European Communities. This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all  Member States.