TRANSFER OF PENSION RIGHTS FROM AND TO SWEDISH PENSION SCHEMES

Officials and temporary staff covered by Article 2(a), (c) and (d) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants who have acquired pension rights under Swedish pension schemes are informed that it is now possible to transfer these pension rights to the Community scheme.

• 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 Communities after leaving the service of a government administration, a national or international organisation or after pursuing an activity in an employed or self-employed capacity and who, by virtue of such service or activity, have acquired pension rights under Swedish pension schemes are entitled to request the transfer of such rights to the European Community pension 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 the relevant European Community institution in writing using the attached form

1. In the case of officials:
   
   Within six months from the date of written notification of establishment as an official (see Article 11(2) of Annex VIII to the Staff Regulations)or within six months from the date of reinstatement after a period of leave on personal grounds or a period of 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 from the date on which they complete the period of service necessary to generate entitlement to a Community pension (see Article 77 of the Staff Regulations).

Applications must be recorded as having been received by the administration of the relevant Community institution before the relevant deadline expires. Applications not submitted by the deadline cannot be considered unless late receipt is due to duly established cases of force majeure.

2. TRANSITIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

1. Officials of the European Communities
   who have not previously been able to exercise their right to transfer pension rights acquired under Swedish social security schemes because no arrangements to do so existed must submit an application in writing to the administration of the relevant Community institution within six months of the date of publication of this notice.
   
2. Temporary staff covered by Article 2(a), (c) or (d) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants:

• who have already completed the period of service necessary to generate entitlement to a Community pension (see Article 77 of the Staff Regulations) and who have not previously been able to exercise their right to transfer pension rights acquired under Swedish social security schemes because no arrangements to do so existed must submit an application in writing to the administration of the relevant Community institution within six months of the date of publication of this notice.
  
• who pursued an activity within the Community institutions before the date of publication of this notice and who, in accordance with the Staff Regulations, have not yet acquired pension rights (Article 77) must submit an application to the administration of the relevant Community institution at the latest within six months of the date of completing the period of service necessary to generate entitlement to a community pension.

3. Officials and temporary staff already in receipt of a pension under the European Community scheme who have not previously been able to exercise their right to transfer pension rights acquired under Swedish social security schemes because no arrangements to do so existed must submit an application in writing to the administration of the relevant Community institution within six months of the date of publication of this notice.
   
4. Where officials or temporary staff have died before the date of publication of this notice or die within six months of that date, those entitled to a survivor's pension following such death may qualify for these same transitional arrangements.
   

Officials and temporary staff covered by Article 2(a), (c) and (d) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants who leave the service of the Communities and join a Swedish social security scheme are informed that it is now possible to transfer their rights under the Community scheme to Sweden

The value of the rights to a Swedish national retirement pension which were previously transferred to the Communities shall in that case re-entitle the person to a national retirement pension under Swedish law. The value of the pension rights which are transferred from the Communities to the social insurance office but which are not to be transferred back to the national pension scheme shall at the official's request be placed by the social insurance office without delay either in a pension insurance scheme as referred to in § 58 of the Income Tax Act (1999:1229) or in one or more of the savings schemes in accordance with the Act on individual pension savings schemes (1993:931).

Transfer pursuant to Article 11(2) and (3) of Annex VIII to the Staff Regulations

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 how a transfer will affect their Community pension.
2. Before applying for the transfer of 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 not necessarily be advantageous to them and they are therefore requested to contact the Community administration before taking a final decision.
3. The years of pensionable service credited to the Community scheme as the result of a transfer of pension rights are not taken into consideration for the purpose of calculating the ten years of service necessary to generate entitlement to a Community pension (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 periods of secondment.
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 of them.
6. Applications cannot be withdrawn once the administrations' proposal regarding the number of pensionable years' service to be credited to the applicant has been accepted in writing.
7. Applications already sent to the administration in any form must be resubmitted using the attached form  by the deadlines given in the present publication.

3. Before applying please read the information transmitted by the Swedish pension authorities in annex 1

 

1. COMMISSION

PAYMASTER'S OFFICE PMO/ 4 - Pensions - Transfer of Pension Rights Section, Brussels
B28-4/187

Mr Braun Tel. (2)296.78.91
Mr Dammekens Tel. (2)299.17.19

Ms Campos Tel. (2) 285.72.81
Mr Pourbaix Tel. (2) 285.66.68

Mr E. Notoglou Tel. (2) 546 .96.61

Ms Romani Tel. (2) 282 .22 07

4. PARLIAMENT

Staff Pensions - Luxembourg BAK 02/67

Mr Wesselink Tel. (352) 4300. / 22491

5. COURT OF JUSTICE

Personnel Division - Rights under the Staff Regulations, Welfare, Health and Pensions Section - Bd. K. Adenauer 100, Kirchberg - Luxembourg

Ms Wagner Tel. (352) 4303 / 3666
Ms Schindlbeck Tel. (352) 4303. / 3665

6. COURT OF AUDITORS

Personnel and Administration Division- 12, rue A. De Gasperi, Kirchberg - Luxembourg

Ms Wegnez Tel. (352) 4398 / 45431
Ms Zimmer Tel : (352) 4398. / 5339
Mr.Apel Tel : (352) 4398 / 45635

Pension rights for the national basic retirement pension comprise the total value of the pension rights for the earnings-related and premium pensions and, for persons born before 1954, the value of the rights to a supplementary pension. Transfer of the value of the pension rights covers all rights accrued up to and including the year in which you started employment with an EC institution. The social insurance office determines an individual's pension rights after the tax authorities have established the pensionable income in connection with the tax assessment for the year after the year in which the pensionable income was earned. The decision on the pension rights established will be sent no later than 31 March of the year following the year in which the rights were determined (the tax assessment year). The national basic retirement pension rights will be transferred to the EC after the pension rights for the last year of accrual have been determined.

The value of the pension rights for a premium pension comprise the balance on your premium pension account. Gotland county social insurance office will send the information on your account balance to the EC institution at which you are employed. That information is provisional and based on the balance on the day the request is answered. If a transfer is effected, then it is the account balance on the day your holding is sold which will be transferred. This means that the transferred sum will differ from the sum you were previously informed of.

If you have questions on transferring the national basic retirement pension please contact Gotland county social insurance office, Box 1164, SE-621 22 Visby, tel.: +46 498 200 700, e-mail: EC.transfer@fk09.sfa.se Information on the national basic retirement pension can also be found at www.forsakringskassan.se and www.pension.nu

If you have questions on your premium pension please contact the Premium Pensions Authority (PPM), Customer Service (Kundservice), SE-826 86 Söderhamn. The telephone number for personal service is +46 771 776 776. You can also search www.ppm.nu for information on your premium pension.

In your application you should sign an authorisation giving your EC institution the right to obtain the necessary information from occupational pension providers. You can find out your pension providers from the pension information notices which are usually sent out once a year. Occupational pension providers will send the requested information direct to the transfer office.

The information provided by the occupational pension providers in reply to the request is provisional. The sum actually transferred may differ from the provisional sum because the capital sum may change in the interim if the value of your fund units or dividend changes.

If you leave your employment you may in certain circumstances be obliged to transfer your pension rights back to Sweden. The conditions under which you may conclude a pension insurance agreement may then have changed. For example, you may require a medical examination if you wish to have survivor's pension insurance. To obtain more information about your options in the event of a transfer back you should contact the occupational pension provider with whom you wish to take out pension insurance.