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Retirement Pension
Notice : the following information regards only the nationals from the European Union of the European Economic Space.
--> Legal regimes for the wage-earning workers of the German, Belgian, French and Luxembourg private sectors : Germany, Belgium, France, Luxembourg
--> Retirement complementary regimes
--> Calculation of the communitarian retirement
--> Social protection of the retired person
--> Retirement pensions Taxation
--> Useful Addresses
--> Legal regimes for the wage-earning workers of the German, Belgian, French and Luxembourg private sectors
~ German
• Covered wage-earners : workers and employees
• Minimum age: 65 years old being able to anticipate it to 60 years (until 2001 for women having contributed 15 years from which 10 were before being 40.), unemployed having contributed 15 years and handicapped people having contributed 35 years) and 63 years (for the people having contributed for 35 years.)
• Minimum duration of affiliation in order to open the right: 60 months (5 years).
• Minimum duration of affiliation in order to benefit from the whole retirement: 60 months (5 years).
• Calculation of the pension: the amount of the pension will be according to the amount of the remunerations, to the age at which you retire, and according to the retirement index (multiplying coefficient proportional to the inflation.)
• Competent Funds.
- There are 27 retirement pension regional funds (Landesversicherungsanstalt –LVA -) for workers and craftsmen;
- The LVA of Rhénanie-Palatinat is the only competent one for workers having worked in France (except for Lorraine) and in Luxembourg;
- The LVA of Sarre is the only one competent for the cross-border workers in Lorraine;
- The Federal Insurance Office for Employees in Berlin (Bundesversicherungsanstalt für Angestellte.)
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~ Belgium
• Covered wage-earners: wage-earning workers from the private sector.
• Minimum age: 65 years old (women: 62 years old in 2002, 63 years old from 2003, 64 years old from 2006, 65 years old from 2009.)
• Minimum duration of affiliation in order to open the right: none.
• Minimum duration of affiliation in order to benefit from the whole retirement: 45 years for men, 42 years for women (43 in 2003, 44 in 2006 and 45 in 2009).
• Amount of the pension: it will be in function of the career path (contribution periods), of the remuneration and of the family situation.
• Minimal pension in case of full career path: 982,81 €/month for a couple and 786,51€/montyh for a single (at 01.02.2002)
• Competent Fund: the National Pension Office.
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~ France
• Covered workers: the wage-earners of the general regime.
• Minimum age: 60 years old. The age of retirement can be different to 65 years old if the insured person does not fulfil, at 60 years old, the prerequisites in order to benefit from a full pension rate without taking into account the duration of the contribution.
• Minimum duration of affiliation in order to open the right: one quarter (three months).
• Minimum duration of affiliation in order to benefit from the whole retirement: Full rate: in order to benefit from a retirement at the full rate (50%), the person will have contributed between 150 and 160 quarters depending on the year of birth.
• Calculation of the pension: the retirement will be according to the average annual wage calculated from the best years of salary – between 10 and 25 years depending on the year of birth, to the applicable rate and according to the number of quarters of insurance.
Example :
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Year of birth
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Number of quarters
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Salary years counting
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1942
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159
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19
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1943
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160
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20
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1944
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160
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21
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1945
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160
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22
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1946
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160
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23
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1947
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160
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24
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1948 and more
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160
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25
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• Minimum amount in case of full career path : 526, 63 €/month (at 01.01.2002)
• Maximum theoretical amount: 1176€/month.
• Competent Funds:
- Ile de France: Caisse Nationale d’Assurance Vieillesse des travailleurs salariés (National Retirement Insurance Fund for wage-earners).
- Other regions but Alsace-Moselle : Caisse Regionale d’Assurance Maladie.
- Alsace-Moselle : Caisse Regionale d’Assurance Vieillesse.
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~ Luxembourg
• Covered wage-earners : workers and employees.
• Minimum age : 65 years old with the possibility of anticipating it to 57 or 60 years old, and with the possibility of a differentiated pension until 68 years old if the conditions are not met when being 65 years old.
• Minimum duration of affiliation in order to open the right : 120 months (10 years).
• Minimum duration of affiliation in order to benefit from a full retirement pension : 40 years.
• Calculation of the pension : the pension is made of a fix amount (1/40th per contribution year with a minimum of 40 years) and of a proportional amount (a percentage of the whole of wages perceived during the career path).
• Minimum amount : 1 190,41 €/month (at 01. 07.2002).
• Competent Funds:
- The Retirement and Invalidity Insurance Institution competent for workers
- The Private Employees Pension Fund, competent for private workers and liberal professions.
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--> Retirement complementary regimes
~ Germany
The complementary regimes are optional. They can be implemented at the company or in specific activity sectors.
~ Belgium and Luxembourg
The complementary regime is voluntary. It exists in the private sector (banking, insurances, companies...).
~ France
The complementary regime is compulsory. The complementary retirement funds are gathered in the midst of three associations :
- the AGIRC (Association Générale des Institutions de Retraite des Cadres);
- the ARRCO (Association des Régimes de Retraite COmplémentaire);
- the IRCANTEC (Institution de Retraite Complémentaire des Agents Non Titulaires de l’Etat et des Collectivités locales)
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--> Calculation of the communitarian retirement
- You have been insured in a single country
If you have carried out your entire career insured in a single member country of the European Union or the EEE, you will benefit from the retirement pension of this country even if you do not reside.
- You have been insured in several countries
If you have worked for less than a year in a country, this country will not pay you any pension but this period of time will be taken into account for the final estimation of your retirement.
If in all the countries where you have worked you did it for more than a year (one quarter in France), each one of the countries will pay you a retirement pension. Indeed, each country has to take into account the insurance periods that you have realised in the other countries since this total opens right to a pension in the concerned country.
Example:
· You have a career record in Luxembourg between 1 and 10 years: Luxembourg will pay a pension proportional to the career carried out in Luxembourg.
- You have a career record in Germany between 1 and 5 years : Germany will pay a pension proportional to the career carried out in Germany.
Attention : the pension of a country will only be paid if you have reached the retirement aged of that country. Thus, in France you will be able to benefit from a retirement pension when you are 60 years old. In Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg on the other hand, the age of retirement is 65 years old. So at 60, you will only be entitled to the pension paid in France, corresponding to the duration of the insurance periods realised in France. Only at 65 will you be entitled to a pension from Germany, Belgium or Luxembourg.
Careful then with liquid assets problems between 60 and 65 years old if you have worked in France in last term…
- Pension calculation
The amount of each pension to which you are entitled will be proportional to the number of working years carried out in the concerning country.
Example :
You have been insured during 15 years in Germany and 25 years in France, a total of 40 years of insurance in both countries. You are 60 years old and you can therefore receive a pension in France (as you have reached the retirement age). You will have to wait until you are 65 to perceive a pension for the insurance periods carried out in Germany.
In order to calculate your pension, the French fund will operate in three terms ;
1st/ they will establish the amount of the French national pension without taking into account the insurance periods carried out abroad ;
2nd/ they will consequently calculate the amount of the pension to which you would be entitled if you had carried out 40 years of insurance in France. This amount is called “theoretical amount”
3rd/ they will finally calculate the amount to which you will be entitled only taking into account the periods fulfilled in France, that is 25/40 of the theoretical amount. This amount is called prorated pension or proportional pension.
The highest amount of the two pensions is the one that will be paid.
At 65 years old, you will then receive the German pension.
Remark :
- should you have worked in a country for a period inferior to the minimum period of affiliation in order to be entitled to the benefits of that country (5 years in Germany, 10 years in Luxembourg), the calculation of the pension will only be the proportional one;
- should the sum of the benefits owed by the different competent States does not reach the minimum foreseen by the legislation of the residence State, this State will pay a pension complement.
- Formalities : where to file the demand ?
A single demand before the fund of your residence locality will be sufficient. They will take care of the necessary steps for the settlement of the pensions to which you are entitled in the other member states.
- Competent institutions :
- in Germany :
- Landesversicherungsanstalt -LVA- (regional funds for retirement pensions) for workers and craftsmen :
- the LVA from Rhénanie-Palatinat is only competent for the workers having worked in France (since the LVA from Sarre is not competent) and in Luxembourg.
- the LVA from Sarre is only competent for the cross-border workers between Sarre and Lorraine and between Lorraine and Sarre.
- Employees Insurance Federal Bureau in Berlin (Bundesversicherungsanstalt für Angestellte)
- in Belgium : the regional administration of the place off residence
- in France :
• Ile de France : Caisse Nationale d’Assurance Vieillesse des travailleurs salariés
• Other regions but for Alsace-Moselle : Caisse régionale d’Assurance Maladie
• Alsace-Moselle : Caisse Régionale d’Assurance Vieillesse
-in Luxembourg : The pension fund you depend on when you present your demand.
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--> Social protection of the retired person
When you are a pensioner, you and the members of your family benefit from the care benefits in your residence State.
+ If you perceive a pension from different countries, including your residence country, the medical care will be granted to you and the members of your family according to the legislation of that State.
+ If you reside in a State that does not pay you any pension, you and the members of your family will be able to benefit from the health services if you are entitled to the health benefits in one of the countries paying you a pension.
These services will be granted according the legislation of your residence State. The country where you have been insured for the longest period or the last country where you have been insured will take charge of the expenses.
In order to benefit from the health care, you and your family will have to register at the sick fund of your residence State, presenting a European form E 121 given by the sickness Fund of the country paying your pension.
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--> Retirement pensions Taxation
• France/Luxembourg , Germany/France
The pensions paid by one of the Sates are under the taxation of that same State. This means that if you reside in France and you receive a pension from Luxembourg, this pension will be taxed in Luxembourg by means of a previous deduction at the origin.
• Belgium/ France, Belgium/Luxembourg
The private sector pensions are taxed in the State where the beneficiary resides. Thus, if you draw a pension from Belgium and you reside in France, the pension will be taxed in France and relieved of in advance in Belgium.
Annabelle Daniau, Juriste, CRD EURES Lorraine
Joël de Marneffe, Juriste, Coordonateur EURES Transfrontalier PED
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--> Useful Addresses
~ Germany
BfA Saarbrücken (Bundesversicherungsanstalt für Angestellte : employees and executives))
Grossherzog-Friederich Strasse, 16-18
D-66 111 SAARBRÜCKEN
tel : 00 49 / 681 93 70 0
fax: 00 49 / 681 93 70 190
http://www.bfa.de/
Auskunfts—und Beratungstelle der LVA für das Saarland
Für Arbeiter und Angestellte
Martin-Luther-Strasse, 2-4
D-66 111 SAARBRÜCKEN
tel : 00 49 / 681 30 93 135
fax: 00 49 / 681 30 93 599
http://www.lva-fuer-das-saarland.de
LVA Rheinland-Pfalz
Eichendorffstrasse, 4-6
D-67 346 SPEYER
tel : 00 49 / 62 32 170
fax : 00 49 / 62 32 17 2589
http://www.lva-rheinland-pfalz.de
~ Belgium
Office national des Pensions
Tour du Midi
B-1060 BRUXELLES
tel : 00 32 / 2 529 21 11
http://www.onprvp.fgov.be/
Office National des Pensions
Bureau régional Luxembourg
Rue des Déportés 50
B-6700 ARLON
tel : 00 32 / 63 24 01 20
fax : 00 32 / 63 24 01 38
~ France
CRAVTS (Alsace-Moselle)
Agence de Metz
9, rue du Grand Cerf
F-57 000 METZ
tel : 00 33 / 3 87 75 18 80
fax: 00 33 / 3 87 74 63 10
http://www.cnav.fr/
CRAM Nord Est (for the departments different to Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin, Moselle)
83- 85, rue de Metz
F-54 073 NANCY Cedex
tel : 00 33 3 83 34 49 49
fax : 00 33 / 3 83 34 49 90
http://www.cram-nordest.fr/
~ Luxembourg
Etablissement d’Assurance contre la Vieillesse et l’Invalidité
125, route d’Esch
L-2977 Luxembourg
tel : 00 352 / 26 19 141
fax : 00 352 / 49 53 53
http://www.avi.lu/
Caisse de Pension des Employés Privés
1 A, boulevard Prince Henri
L-2096 Luxembourg
tel : 00 352 / 22 41 41 1
fax: 00 352 / 22 41 41 368
http://www.cpep.lu/
For more information, please contact the two resources centres in the Grande Région.
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