Boost for pensions of cross-border workers

Europeans working in another Member State can now enjoy minimum rights for their pensions abroad. Supplementary pension rights will no longer disappear if one works longer than 3 years in another Member State.

"A genuine improvement for many workers. This is a big step for the free movement of workers and a boost for a social Europe", stated Rapporteur Ria Oomen-Ruijten MEP. Her Report is set to be adopted tonight in the European Parliament.

As soon as this decision enters into force, EU workers will already start building a pension at the age of 21. At the moment, the age is 25 in some Member States. Besides, people often have to participate in a scheme for at least five years in order to get pension rights; this vesting period will be lowered to three years.

"A good pension is a necessity now that Europeans can expect to live much longer", Oomen-Ruijten stated. By 2060, the share of those aged 65 and over is projected to rise from 17% to 30% of the population. The pension built up by contributions from the employer and the employee is often a useful addition to the state pension and personal savings.

The proposal took a very long time to finalise. The text was presented by the European Commission back in 2005. The legislation was blocked in the Council for many years, until Rapporteur Oomen-Ruijten reached an agreement in 2013. This is the last Report of outgoing MEP Oomen-Ruijten, after being a Member of the European Parliament for 25 years.