Jan Molenbroek v Bestuur van de Sociale Verzekeringsbank.
Date: 1992-11-19
10 In the first place it is important to note that, as the Court held in its judgment in Case 30/85 Teuling v Bedrijfsvereniging voor de Chemische Industrie [1987] ECR 2497, paragraph 12, it is clear from the very wording of Article 4(1) of Directive 79/7 that the grant of a pension supplement in respect of a dependent spouse is prohibited if it is directly or indirectly based on the sex of the beneficiaries.
11 In that judgment (paragraph 13) the Court stated that a system of benefits in which supplements are provided for that are not directly based on the sex of the beneficiaries but take account of their marital status or family situation and from which it transpires that a considerably smaller proportion of women than of men are entitled to such supplements is contrary to Article 4(1) of the directive if that system of benefits cannot be justified by reasons which exclude any discrimination on grounds of sex.
13 In those circumstances, legislation of the kind at issue, which makes the grant and the amount of a pension supplement to the pensioner depend exclusively on income from work earned by the younger spouse, leads in principle to indirect discrimination against women in relation to men, contrary to Article 4(1) of Directive 79/7, unless such legislation is justified by objective factors unconnected with any discrimination on grounds of sex. It follows from the case-law of the Court that this is the case if the means chosen correspond to a legitimate aim of the social policy of the Member State whose legislation is at issue and are suitable and requisite for attaining the aim pursued (see the judgment in Case C-229/89 Commission v Belgium [1991] ECR I-2205).
15 Furthermore, the Court has already held that the allocation of an income equal to the social minimum formed an integral part of the social policy of the Member States and that those States enjoyed a reasonable margin of discretion as regards both the nature of the protective measures in the social sphere and the detailed arrangements for their implementation (judgment in Commission v Belgium, cited above, paragraphs 22 and 23).
16 Finally, in leaving out of account any other income received by an old-age pensioner when determining the supplement payable to him in respect of a younger dependent spouse, the national legislation at issue in this case ultimately allocates to the couple an aggregate income equal to that to which both spouses will be entitled when they are both in receipt of a pension and the supplement has consequently been discontinued.
17 The supplements scheme is therefore essential in order to preserve the nature of the allowance granted under the AOW as a basic allowance and in order to guarantee the couple, where one of the spouses has not yet reached pensionable age, an income equal to the social minimum which they will receive when they are both pensioners.
19 It follows from the foregoing considerations that the national legislation at issue corresponds to a legitimate objective of social policy, involves supplements suitable and requisite for attaining that aim and is therefore justified by reasons unrelated to discrimination on grounds of sex.