Transfer of pension rights
acquired with Belgian regimes
After the decisions taken by the European Civil Service Tribunal (TPFE) on the cases Frankin F-3/06, Vienne F-115/05 and Genette F-92/05 concerning pension rights acquired with Belgian regimes, it seems to be necessary to illustrate certain aspects which may affect civil servants and staff members, in particular those who have worked in Belgium and have acquired pension rights previous to their entry into service with the Commission.
In 2003 the Belgian state approved a law which gave better conditions for transfer of pension rights compared with the previous legislation. Obviously this law is automatically applied to everyone who has requested it after it came into effect on 1 January 2002. By virtue of the decision of the TFPE, it is equally applicable to civil servants and members of staff who requested a transfer of pension rights before 1 January 2002.
The Frankin and Vienne cases have established that the Commission and Parliament are not legally required to give financial assistance to find out if individual civil servants or members of staff would benefit by requesting a new transfer of rights according to the conditions of the latest Belgian legislation.
The FFPE suggests that anyone who is in this situation, and who wishes to transfer their Belgian pension rights to the Community regime in accordance with the new law, to ask the Office National Belge des Pensions (Belgian National Pensions Office) to calculate the exact accumulated amount, as there are, despite everything, some particular situations where the conditions fixed by the law of 2003 leave the individual worse off than the conditions set by the previous law (see para 67, F-92/05). Once you know your own situation, we are at your disposal for any advice you require.
An informative meeting on the Genette judgment took place on 14 February 2007 between the Commission and the staff associations with a view to accelerate and clarify the next steps to be taken. The Commission is considering the possibility of taking an appeal to the Tribunal de Première Instance of the European Union, which would be regrettable as it would not be a matter of acting to the benefit of affected civil servants and members of staff. By contrast, the staff associations, and in particular the FFPE, have asked the ADMIN for full support vis-a-vis the Belgian state, in case the latter may not respect the TFPE's decision. Taking account of the uncertain outcome of the process, and of the nature of the topic, we will strive to ensure that everyone's interests are defended.
The FFPE is listening to you and keeping you informed.