The European Commission’s plans to digitise social security information across borders could have implications for how mobile workers track pension rights, speakers told a European pension communication forum.
The Commission adopted its Fair Labour Mobility package on 15 September, including five legislative proposals aimed at making it easier for people to prove and claim social security rights when they live or work in another EU country.
The package includes a proposed regulation establishing a European Social Security Pass (ESSPASS), which would allow people to request, receive, store and present social security documents digitally.
Speaking at the European Tracking System’s (ETS) European Forum on Pension Communication in Brussels on Monday, Raymond Maes, the European Commission’s director general for employment, social affairs and inclusion and adviser for labour mobility, presented the Fair Labour Mobility Package and its relationship with the ETS.
The ESSPASS would use the EU Digital Identity Wallet to allow people to store and present social security documents digitally. The Commission says digitalisation will be introduced in stages, beginning with the portable document A1 for posted workers, followed by the European Health Insurance Card and other documents.
The Commission’s wider proposal covers social security documents relating to pensions as well as other areas including sickness, unemployment and accidents at work.
The Fair Labour Mobility package comes as the Commission seeks to improve access to information for people with cross-border careers. Around 14 million EU citizens live and/or work long-term in another EU country, according to the Commission.
The ETS is intended to provide mobile workers with an overview of pension entitlements accrued in different countries. The Commission has previously said the Pan-European platform should connect national pension tracking systems across the EU.
The package comprises a communication on fair labour mobility and five legislative proposals covering ESSPASS, digital qualifications, the European Labour Authority, professional qualifications and recognition of qualifications of third-country nationals.
The proposals must now be adopted by the European Parliament and Council before the main measures can enter into force.
