*Update 31.03.2023 Revised Conclusion No 283/20 – Determination and payment of financial entitlements under the staff regulations in the event of dissolution of a marriage or partnership, or termination of a de facto relationship: This Conclusion cancels and replaces Conclusions 3/77, 38/79, 111/85, 131/86, 220/04, 222/04 and 283/20.* The recently adopted Conclusion No 283/20 Determination and payment of financial entitlements under the Staff Regulations in the event of dissolution of a marriage or partnership, or termination of a de facto relationship [1] sets out the updated information. Check whether this affects you.
Since financial entitlements are based on staff family circumstances (e.g. marriage, partnership, dependent child), a change such as divorce or separation may result in a modification to your financial entitlements. Please ensure that you update Sysper with any such circumstances as soon as you can: the Office for the Administration and Payment of Individual Entitlements (PMO) recovers amounts overpaid (Staff Regulations (SR), Article 85, PMO guidelines, 2018).
Legal separation (defined in Conclusion 262/14) puts an end to the following financial entitlements at the end of the month in which it is issued.
- household allowance in respect of a spouse;
- family allowances in respect of a child of the spouse and the tax abatement (Article 3(4) of Regulation No 260/68);
- annual travel expenses for the spouse and children of the spouse (Article 8(1) of Annex VII, SR);
- adaptation of the entitlements granted in connection with the change of place of employment of the staff member;
Divorce puts an end to the financial entitlements granted as a result of the marriage at the end of the month in which the divorce judgment becomes final. So, in addition to 1-4 listed above, it also affects:
- entitlement of the spouse and children of the spouse to sickness insurance (Article 72, SR);
- spouse’s entitlement to a survivor’s pension (Article 79, SR, Article 27 of Annex VIII, SR);
- entitlement of the spouse’s children to an orphan’s pension (Article 81, SR).
Dissolution of an assimilated partnership (Article 1(2)(c) of Annex VII, SR) puts an end to the financial entitlements as in the case of divorce and dissolution of a registered partnership (Article 72(1), SR) ends entitlement of the partner to sickness insurance. Rules regarding de facto separation of any relationship and the termination of de facto relationships are also set out in Conclusion No 283/20.
Dependent children allowances (Article 2 of Annex VII, SR, Conclusion 274/15) are affected by family circumstances e.g. by a change in custody or by those dependants marrying/divorcing (Section 3, Article 5 (3), Decision No 50-2004/28.05.2004)
As is the case where parents form a household, in the event of legal separation or termination of the partnership, family allowances are normally paid to the spouse or partner with the higher basic salary. (This increases those allowances which are calculated based on the basic salary.)
Each parent is entitled to family allowances related to the existence of a dependent child for whom they are responsible for the actual maintenance (Article 2 of Annex VII, SR), but there is no doubling of the family allowance: where both parents claim payment of the financial entitlements for their joint children, without being able to agree on the allocation of the entitlements or the distribution of their payments, the administration shall pay each parent 50% of the financial entitlements. The change in the payment of financial entitlements can only be implemented for the future.
If you need any help with the interpretation or application of these rules, please do not hesitate to contact the relevant Commission service via Staff Matters and Staff Contact .
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[1] This Conclusion cancels and replaces Conclusions 111/85, 131/86 and 220/04, and applies from 1 April 2021.
