Step 1 - Does the assignment fall within the Regulation's Scope?
The EC Regulation applies if the assignment falls within the following three dimensions:
a. The Personal Scope
For an employee to qualify under the personal scope of the Regulation, they must meet one of these criteria:
Currently be subject to mandatory social security in one or more Member States, or
Have been subject to mandatory social security in one or more Member States immediately prior to their assignment.
Third-country nationals (non-EU, EEA and Swiss nationals) must also have a legal residence within the EU/EEA/Swiss region.
Note:
Coverage by only one mandatory scheme of a Member State is sufficient, provided that scheme is listed under the Material Scope.
The definition of “immediately” depends on the interpretation of the member state where the person is subject to social security.
Usually, this is connected with one or more wage periods, but it must be at least one month. If the employee had mandatory insurance during this period immediately before the assignment, the condition has been met.
The definition of "residence" is the place where a person habitually resides.
Family members and survivors of the above individuals, irrespective of their nationality. This includes survivors of non-EU/EEA/Swiss nationals where these survivors are nationals of a Member State.
b. The Territorial Scope
The territorial scope of the Regulation primarily covers the following member states:
All EU Member States
European Economic Area (EEA) countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway
and
Switzerland, through a separate agreement.
This means the Regulation applies to individuals who are subject to the social security legislation of any of these countries and who meet the “crossing border criterion”: a temporary and legitimate movement for work or residency purposes from one of these states to another.
The cross-border criterion relates to the movement from one member state to another and does not relate to the movement from a third country to a member state.
See under Elaboration regarding third-country nationals.
c. The Material Scope
The material scope of the Regulation applies to legislation concerning:
Sickness benefits
Maternity and equivalent paternity benefits
Invalidity benefits
Old-age pensions
Survivors’ benefits
Benefits in respect of accidents at work and occupational diseases
Death grants
Unemployment benefits
Pre-retirement benefits
Family benefits.
It’s essential to note that the regulation does not create new rights; it coordinates existing national systems to ensure that individuals don’t lose their entitlements when moving across borders within the EU, EEA, or Switzerland region.
Note: The material scope doesn’t include social assistance or special non-contributory cash benefits unless they are listed in Annexe X of the Regulation.
Note: The material scope is limitative and doesn’t include all occupational schemes.
Elaboration
The objective of EC Regulations on Social Security is coordination, not harmonization.
In other words, within the EU/EEA/Swiss Community, each member state maintains its social security systems that may differ from those of the other states. Still, they all apply standard rules that protect social security rights when people move from one state to another.
Caution
Definition of Family member
The EC Regulation defines family members as: any person defined or recognized as a member of the family or designated as a member of the household by the national legislation in the field of social security.