I. Transfer of pension rights acquired in Spain to the Community scheme pursuant to Article 11(2) and (3) of Annex VIII to the Staff Regulations

• Officials and temporary staff covered by Article 2(a), (c) and (d) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants who enter the service of the Commission after working in a national administration, for a national organisation or for a private firm or after a period of self-employment and have acquired pension rights in Spain as a result are informed that it is now possible to transfer these rights to the Community scheme.
  
  
• Pursuant to the general provisions for giving effect to Article 11(2) of Annex VIII to the Staff Regulations, published in Administrative Notices No 789 of 16 April 1993, applications must be made to your Community institution in writing ( a ) ( b ) on the attached form. This form should be accompanied by a certificate of the services provided to the State. Application for this certificate should be made to the last administration of employment; it is essential whatever the length of service under that scheme (see Article 7(1) of Section 1 of Chapter III of Decreto Real No 2072/1999 of 30 December 1999).
  
  

Deadlines for making the transfer application

1. In the case of officials:
   
   Within six months of the date of notification of establishment or of reinstatement after a period of leave on personal grounds or secondment (see Article 11(3) of Annex VIII to the Staff Regulations);
   
   
   
2. In the case of temporary staff covered by Article 2(a), (c) and (d) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants:
   At the latest within six months of the date of completion of the period of service necessary to generate entitlement to a Community pension (Article 77 of the Staff Regulations).
   Applications must be received by the Community administration before the expiry of the relevant deadline, failing which they will not be considered unless the delay in submitting the application is the result of duly established exceptional circumstances.
   
   

Transitional arrangements

1. An official of the Communities
   who has not previously been able to exercise his or her right to transfer Spanish pension rights because no arrangements to do so existed
   must submit an application in writing to the administrative department of the institution within six months of the date of publication of this notice.
   
   
2. In the case of temporary staff covered by Article 2(a), (c) and (d) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants:
   
   
   • A member of the temporary staff who has satisfied the requirements for a Community retirement pension (Article 77)
     and who has not previously been able to exercise his or her right to transfer Spanish pension rights because no arrangements to do so existed
     
     must submit an application in writing to the administrative department of the institution within six months of the date of publication of this notice.
     
     
   • A member of the temporary staff who is in the service of a Community institution at the time of publication of this notice and who has not yet satisfied the requirements for a Community retirement pension (Article 77)
     must submit an application to the administrative department of the institution at the latest within six months of the date on which he or she completes the period of service necessary under the Staff Regulations to generate entitlement to a Community pension.
   
   
   
3. Entitled persons
   Where an official or member of the temporary staff has died ( b ) before the date of publication of this notice or dies within the six months following that date, these transitional arrangements shall apply to those entitled to a survivor's pension.

Important notes

1. Submission of an application does not commit applicants to a transfer of pension rights at this stage. Individuals will have to take a final decision once they have been informed by the Community administration of how many years of service will be credited to the Community scheme.
   The relevant Spanish scheme will first provide the applicant with an individual statement of the amount which can be transferred and how this amount has been calculated. If this amount is disputed the relevant Community administration must be informed.
   
   
2. Before taking a decision on whether to transfer their pension rights, staff should bear in mind the following:
   

1. As the Staff Regulations currently fix the maximum Community pension at 70% of final basic salary, a higher rate cannot be paid as the result of a transfer.
   
   
2. Since widows/widowers and orphans are guaranteed a minimum Community pension, a transfer of pension rights may, in certain circumstances, not be of advantage to such persons, who are therefore requested to contact the Community administration before taking a final decision on a transfer.
   
   
3. The years of pensionable service credited to the Community scheme as a result of a transfer of pension rights are not taken into consideration for the purposes of calculating the ten years of service necessary to generate entitlement to a Community pension (see Article 77 of the Staff Regulations).
   
   
4. Only pension rights acquired before the applicant entered the service of the European Communities may be transferred, together with any rights acquired during periods of leave on personal grounds or during periods of secondment. Contributions to the national scheme after the applicant entered the service of the European Communities may be refunded on application to the Spanish administration in accordance with the conditions laid down in the Decreto Real (First additional provision - Refund of contributions in Section 2).
   
   
5. Where there are several persons entitled to a survivor's pension, the application will not be considered unless it has been duly dated and signed by all those entitled.
   
   
6. Applications may not be withdrawn once the administration's proposal regarding the number of pensionable years' service to be credited to the applicant has been accepted in writing.
   
   
7. The actuarial equivalent of pension rights may be transferred even if a Spanish body has already made a payment. If this has been done, all payments made following entitlement to the pension, plus simple interest at 3.5%, will be deducted from the actuarial equivalent transferred (see Article 3 of the first transitional provision in Section 2 of the Decreto Real).
   
   
8. Only one application for the transfer of pension rights may be made during the whole career of an official or a member of the temporary staff.
   
   
9. Applications already sent to the administration in any form must be resubmitted using the attached form by the deadlines set out in I.

   
   

II. Transfer of pension rights acquired under the Community scheme to a scheme in Spain pursuant to Article 11(1) of Annex VIII to the Staff Regulations

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