Generation 2004 EEAS section and the EU Delegations Partners Network [1] – the support organisation for EU Delegation families [2] – would like to bring to your attention the situation when EU/EEAS officials having a spouse/partner [3] accept a posting outside the EU and the couple chooses to go there together, knowing that one of the couple may not be able to work.
Behind the scenes of these sometimes-prestigious assignments lies a problem. This is a known problem and it already has implications for many accompanying spouses/partners within the EU [4], but it’s a problem which, outside the EU, is very much exacerbated: the inability for that spouse to accumulate social security rights and pension entitlements on their own account.
Many spouses/partners [5] of EU Delegations staff are unable to work during their time abroad, even when they undertake the process to (partially) waive the default privileges and immunities [6]. Their diplomatic status under the Vienna Convention can severely restrict their access to local labour markets, and very few bilateral agreements [7] allow them to legally take up employment. As a result, many partners cannot build up pension rights in the host country, nor can they easily continue to make contributions in their home countries[1].
A non-earning spouse/partner must consider these issues when not earning abroad:
- No individual pension rights accumulated (though the option to try to compensate via additional voluntary contributions (AVCs [8]) might be an option in several Member States)
- No individual social benefits such as unemployment allowance or their own health insurance coverage[2].
- Financial dependence on the earning spouse.
- Potential loss of EU residence and often the inability to open or maintain EU bank accounts when accompanying a spouse posted in higher-risk ‘non-family [7]‘ posting.
Generation 2004 supports informed-decision making: we encourage any such couple to ask all the questions they can and to know what their options might be as a single-income couple living outside the EU. While there are EU Member States which offer solutions to diplomatic couples where one member is not earning, such as state-paid pension contributions or access to national insurance systems during foreign postings (see pp. 14-16 in European diplomatic partners’ and spouses’ pensions: Problems and solutions [9] (EUFASA [9], 2023))[3], the European External Action Service (EEAS) has no current plans to address this issue.
Sadly, any such couple where one half is a posted EEAS colleague is left with a stark choice: to either go abroad together and have the non-earning partner take the corresponding hit to their individual current and future financial security, or to be geographically separated so that the non-EEAS colleague can maintain their individual social security and pension rights. EEAS colleagues who are in a couple might also restrict where they are posted to or even whether they are posted at all: does this out-of-date set-up depending on single-income families change the demographic of EEAS staff in Delegation?
Why does this matter for the EEAS?
The credibility, stability, and attractiveness of EU Delegations are tied to the well-being of staff and by extension to their families, who support the EU’s work abroad. A system that relies on a single-income family unit risks discouraging mobility for those members of staff, meaning EU representation is less diverse, and creating reputational damage as a less favourable employer than equivalent services in Member State.
How can we – trade unions and stakeholders help?
- Advocate for an evaluation of the possibility for non-earning partners and/or spouses of EEAS colleagues to make or be gifted continuous social security contributions during postings[4].
- Demand that the EEAS set a good example, taking as a template Finland, Denmark, and Estonia (EUFASA [9], 2023) where pension contributions are indeed made.
- Encourage EEAS staff who are in a couple to consider their options and make informed decisions by raising their awareness
- Request that the evaluation take a look at the gendered impact of these issues, as most of those losing their individual financial security are women[5].
- Push for the EEAS to embed additional support mechanisms into EU law, ensuring they cannot be easily cut during budget crises.
- Open a dialogue with EU institutions about modernising the diplomatic family model to better reflect today’s workforce realities of a dual-income household: that the idea of a non-earning spouse who is always ready to travel is outdated.
It is time for the EEAS to show leadership.
Ensuring the social security and dignity of partners and/or spouses of EEAS colleagues is not just a legal or human rights issue – it is a matter of fairness, respect, and institutional responsibility.
On the topic of staff pensions in general, Generation 2004 would like to see several updates, we ask
- that the shortfall on the local agents’ pension (‘provident’) fund [10] be investigated in order to avoid its being repeated and all who have retired and lost out meantime be appropriately compensated.
- that the Pension Scheme of the European Institutions (PSEUI [11]) contributions for non-permanent staff [12] be paid during the period where they receive the EU unemployment allowance and that the implications of the Picard case [13]be clarified (e.g. the pensions repercussions for non-permanent staff who become officials are as-yet unknown).
- that the inevitability of AST/SC colleagues receiving only the minimum pension (by design? [14]) be reviewed and that they be made aware of the potential losses of choosing to make a transfer-in [15] of contributions made elsewhere.
- that the PSEUI non-recognition of Member-State-gifted pensions contributions [16] (e.g. during national service, unemployment or caring duties) be made very clear to anyone considering a transfer-in of pension rights and that colleagues be encouraged to investigate how to still make use of those contributions.
- that the implications of missed promotions (e.g. through certification [17] or CCP) on the calculation of a final-salary pension (such as the PSEUI) be made explicit.
Generation 2004 will continue to advocate for these changes!
As always, we would love to hear from you. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us [18] or leave a comment below.
If you appreciate our work, please consider becoming a member of Generation 2004 [19].
[1] This same issue is a recognised factor affecting the attractiveness of many Commission sites as a place of work and the EU institutions in general as an employer: a spouse or partner (especially one who does not speak the language [20]) is offered limited support [21] to find work. Luxembourg is a particularly good example of long-standing difficulties in recruiting (and retaining) staff (the ‘attractivity’ issue). There were 12 actions [22] announced for Luxembourg attractivity 30.03.2022 [23]: Action 7 was ‘jobs for spouses’. While we’ve been unable to find any progress on this item (feel free to send us anything you find! [24]) we have noted a new clause insisting that those recruited to Luxembourg stay there [25] for 4 years: we’re not sure that this helps at all.
[2] A spouse/recognised partner without any income has primary cover for sickness insurance [26] but no accident insurance from the EU joint sickness insurance scheme (JSIS) i.e. an accident would be covered at the normal reimbursement rate of c. 80-85% and not at the 100% for accidents.
[3] Though all of the usual family allowances [27] are conserved. This request is for additional allowances for the exceptional circumstances of being posted to one of the over 140 EU delegations around the world [28]. Note that Member States are ahead of the EU institutions on many fronts including paternity leave [29] or gifted pensions contributions [16] (e.g. during national service, unemployment or caring duties). The staff regulations do not currently count gifted contributions for any transfer-in of pension rights tot he PSEUI, since they were not generated by employment.
[4] Any of you who have checked the possibilities for continuing to make PSEUI pensions contributions (first year only [11]) during leave on personal grounds (‘CCP [30]‘) or unpaid leave [31] will appreciate that this might pose a considerable cost, nevertheless, we ask for the matter to be evaluated: could those contributions be made to a national scheme? Do spouses curently make private pension provision? How many colleagues are affected and to what extent is this changing the profile of those working in Delegations?
[5] See Survivors [32], orphan [33], Surviving divorced spouse [34]: Any spouse/partner (whether earning or not) can conserve some EU family allowances and some PSEUI [11] rights in the event of widowhood.