R&D and the Union Majority have succeeded in their proposal to the Commission not to apply retrospectively the new rules on transfer of pension rights, which will reduce by about 30% the value of acquired rights to be transferred into the EU pension scheme!

With a view to ensuring greater transparency in the pension rights transfer system – the administration has decided to accept the proposal of R&D and the Union Majority not to put in place the retrospective action which would have been very unfavourable for new starters.

This set of rules allows for pension rights acquired in national schemes before taking up an appointment in an EU Institution, or during a period of leave for personal reasons or on detachment, to be taken into account in the EU Institutions’ pension scheme.

A new inter-service consultation is in circulation on a modified draft of the General Execution Arrangements (GEA) and the new rules will come into effect on the first day of the month following their publication in the administrative information bulletin! You should therefore act quickly and submit your request immediately, as the previous General Execution Arrangements will still apply for those cases in which the date of application (for transfers “in”) predate the coming into force of the new GEAs.

R&D wishes to draw your attention to the fact that the new system which will come probably into effect by the end of May contains a calculation which reduces the value of acquired rights transferred into the EU pension scheme by about 30% (Transfer IN).

We encourage all Civil Servants, temporary staff and contractual agents, and more particularly the “Shipwrecked” from the 2004 reforms, to submit IMMEDIATELY a request which, while not committing you to anything, nevertheless will allow you to keep more of your pension rights in the event of a pension scheme transfer!  

No member of staff needs to take a final decision before receiving an official proposal from the Institution indicating the number of extra years of pension rights that a possible transfer will produce!

For more information, explanation and transfer request forms on intracomm:

EN: http://myintracomm.ec.europa.eu/hr_admin/en/pension/transfer/Pages/index.aspx

See also:

• Cend Article on transfer of pension rights
• our Pension Plan page