Employment and pensions: Supplementary pensions proposal

United Kingdom


Supplementary pensions proposal

Mindful of the "demographic time bomb" and the need to encourage the free movement of people within the EU, the Commission has proposed a Directive to protect the supplementary pension rights of people who move within the EU.

State pensions are already covered by EU legislation. But, as the Commission has acknowledged, supplementary and company pensions are financially more important to many people and are growing in significance.

The new draft Directive proposes that workers who go to work for another employer in another Member State should not be penalised. Under the Proposal, cross-border contributions to supplementary pensions would also enjoy tax relief where an employee is temporarily seconded to another Member State.

The draft Directive also proposes a right to adequate information. Members of supplementary pension schemes should be able to assess the implications of going to work in different Member States. They also need access to full information on possible alternatives, such as transferring their rights to a scheme in the host country.